Like Father, Like Daughter
by Sweet Cadbury
Summary: Rowen and Kayura's genetically engineered daughter from the future returns to the past to try to aid her father when a new enemy shows up. The fic is kind of old, so, forgive any innacuracies! Read and respond, please! Hopefully ya don't hate it..
1. Strata Eyes

It was a sunny afternoon the day Reia walked home. The first sunny day in a long time. The cool breeze swished the skirt of her school uniform and blew her long, dark blue hair behind her. Reia seemed like any ordinary 16 year old girl, living in the 21st century. On the outside she looked normal. But many of her schoolmates avoided her. She was weird. She put out strange energy vibes. And she could hold her own in any school yard fight, as a few school bullies learned the hard way. Reia lived alone in a big house with her single mother, and rumor had it she had a wild pet. Lion? Wolf? Tiger? Bear? A lot of rumors surrounded Reia's life. A lot of rumors about her family, too. The only ones that bothered her were the ones about her father. The other kids at school learned quickly that you didn't mention Reia's father to her.   
Reia turned onto a dirt road, entering a less populated part of town to follow the road up to where her house was. She heard footsteps behind her.   
"If that's that jerk Isamu again I'll give him a kicking he'll never forget," She mumbled to herself as she turned around. Five dark figures in armor.   
"Can't you Dynasty creeps leave me alone?!" She groaned. "I have a lot of homework tonight!"   
Reia jumped backwards, throwing her books at the first Dynasty soldier. She jumped over the head of the next soldier to attack, his spear barely missed her body, but it tore her skirt.   
"Darn it!" She screamed, landing in the dirt on her knees. "My mom is going to kill me! All right, you jerks asked for it!"   
She quickly climbed to her feet and jumped again to avoid the spears of the soldiers. Her school uniform burst off her body in shreds, replacing itself with a suit of body armor.   
More soldiers appeared from the woods around her.   
"There are too many," She thought grimly. "I guess I'll just have to level the forest today...   
"TO ARMS!" She shouted, jumping back from the soldiers to give herself breathing room.   
"ARMOR OF-" She was suddenly cut off by a shock wave that suddenly came across the path. She was knocked to the ground and skidded several yards, dirt flying everywhere. A deep voice was laughing at her. She knew that voice.   
"Cayle," She hissed as the Warlord of Corruption loomed over her.   
"How's my favorite little Ronin Warrior doing?" He sneered.   
"I've been better," She coughed. "You just wait 'til the others show up."   
"The others WON'T show up," Cayle laughed. There was a flash of light and Dais appeared behind him. Then a large spider web behind him. Her comrades, the other Ronin Warriors were hanging in the web... looking very lifeless.   
"I'll kill you if they're harmed," She hissed, trying to get up. Cayle slashed the air above her with his sword, sending black lightning coursing through her body.   
"They're fine, girl," He sneered. "Relatively. You know, for a girl, you sure are troublesome. As obnoxious as the first generation of Ronin Warriors."   
"F-FIRST generation?!" Reia exclaimed. "What are you talking about NOW, madman?" "You think you are the first to take arms? The battle has been going on a long time, girl. A long time. It ends, TODAY," Sehkmet laughed from the other side of the web.   
"Sir," One of the Dynasty soldiers muttered, holding out Reia's schoolbag.   
"What is it, you fool?" Sehkmet snapped, taking the bag. He opened the small pocket and took out a small, black and white snapshot. He smiled.   
"Well, well, well. Look at this," He chuckled.   
"Who is this handsome young fellow?" Dais snorted, waving the picture in Reia's face.   
"Leave that alone," She hissed.   
"Tell us, Reia, how is it that you got a picture of him?" Sehkmet asked in a low voice.   
"Go to he-" Reia was cut of by another cruel slash of Cayle's sword.   
"She does look like him," Dais muttered.   
"Could it be that the career of making things difficult for us runs in her family?" Cayle chuckled.   
"What are you talking about?!" Reia screamed.   
"Is this your father girl? Huh? IS IT?" Sehkmet shouted, pulling her hair.   
"What does my father have to do with this?!" She moaned.   
"Like father, like daughter," Dais chuckled. "Killing you will be as much fun as killing your father was."   
"WHAT?!"   
"Your family line of Ronin Warriors ends NOW," Cayle shouted, raising his sword for the killing blow.   
"NO!" A woman's voice screamed.   
"You!" Dais hissed.   
"Mother!" Reia shouted. "Get out of here!"   
"Ray, this is beyond you!" Her mother shouted. Reia's mom was a beautiful Japanese woman, long black hair, almost always garbed in traditional Japanese kimonos.   
"This is your daughter, traitor?" Sehkmet sneered. "And this Ronin is her father? You were more of a traitor than we thought!"   
"I wouldn't expect one with the brains of an adder to understand the particulars of Reia's existence!" The woman spat.   
"And what does that mean, exactly?" Dais growled, reaching for his blades.   
There was a sudden bright flash of light, Reia saw her mother fall, and heard the clash of weapons against armor. And then she was falling, falling into an abyss of white hot light, screaming soundlessly.   
She saw her friends pass by her, they were falling, too. And then... darkness.   
  
"All right, class, we break for lunch, see you all back here at 2:00," The teacher's voice droned.   
Rowen sighed and collected his books. He brushed his dark blue hair back and casually glanced out the window. Sure enough, Mia's red jeep was parked down at the curb. He could hear the horn honking, meaning that Kento was probably behind the wheel, impatient to pick him up and get to lunch ASAP.   
"How are the classes treating you?" Auburn-haired Cye asked with a polite smile as Rowen heaved his books into the back seat and crawled into the car.   
"All right, I guess," Rowen said with a shrug.   
"Let's just get something to eat, I'm starving," Kento whined, rolling down the window to let the breeze roll into the car.   
"Mia, Sage, and Ryo are waiting at the restaurant," Cye said in his soft, accented voice as Rowen idly hung his arm out at window and Kento pushed the speed limit.   
"What's with you, man?" Kento finally asked as they stopped at a red light. "You look penciled, no, penecill- Um..." Kento paused in search of the right word.   
"Pensive?" Cye put in.   
"Yeah, pensive. Thoughtful. What's eating you, Rowen?"   
"I don't know," Rowen replied, rubbing his temples. "Things are just too quiet. Too perfect."   
Kento sighed. "I think about the Dynasty a lot, too. But we killed Talpa, remember? Everything's fine..."   
"Maybe," Cye mumbled as the jeep jolted forward once more.   
"Here we are, finally," Kento exclaimed as they pulled into the parking lot of the Chinese restaurant. "Man I love Chinese food!"   
"You love this place because you eat free," Cye muttered.   
"Can I help it if my parents own the place?" Kento replied with a grin.   
Cye and Kento were different as night and day; Kento was loud, boisterous, and loved to eat. Cye was the quietest of the group, the "cute" one who seemed almost delicate at first glance, although in a battle he was every bit as fierce as Kento. Perhaps Cye's cooking ability was one of the things Kento liked about him.   
"Hey!" Mia called with a cheerful smile, waving at the three guys as they entered to restaurant, which was not very crowded. She and Ryo scooted down to make room for Rowen on their side of the booth, Kento and Cye took a spot on the other side next to Sage.   
"How are your extra college courses going?" Sage asked, nodding at Rowen while pushing his blond hair away from his right eye, only to have it flop back into place.   
"Fine, I guess," Rowen grunted in response.   
"What's your problem?" Ryo asked, touching Rowen's shoulder lightly. Rowen turned to look at Ryo, who had long black hair and blue eyes, his closest friend in the group.   
"He's got bad vibes," Kento said. "Where is the waitress?" He muttered, looking around.   
"Wish a day could go by without one of us getting like that," Sage muttered.   
Just then, a tall, slender girl wearing a clingy red silk Chinese dress appeared at the table. Her hair was dark blue, tied up into two buns on the side of her head, the excess hair hanging in braids that fell just beyond her shoulders.   
"Nihao," She said quietly. "I am Reia. I will be your waitress this afternoon."   
"Finally," Kento grunted. Sage sat up quickly and smoothed his hair back; Sage was well known for being the flirt of the group, and one of his goals was to charm any girl he put his mind to.   
Everyone ordered something. Sage winked at Reia as he handed her his menu, she tried to keep herself from blushing. Then she noticed Rowen.   
"F- For you, sir?" She asked. Rowen looked up, their eyes met. She stifled a gasp. His handsome face reminded her of a male version of her own, although it was not noticeable at the moment due to all the makeup she was wearing. His blue eyes were like reflections of her own.   
"I... ah, nothing for me," He muttered. "Just tea..."   
"I'll get your orders out here soon," She said, hurriedly grabbing the remaining menus and going off at a pace just slow enough not to qualify as a mad dash.   
"Hey, Rowen," Sage said with a big grin, reaching across the table to snap his fingers at Rowen. "She was pretty cute."   
"Huh?" Rowen grunted, as if he suddenly remembered where he was.   
"That waitress. She checked you OUT!" Sage exclaimed, Rowen looked down. "Couldn't help but notice how she looked at me, too," Sage added with a bigger grin.   
"You OK?" Ryo asked. "Hey, Rowen?"   
"It's love," Mia chuckled.   
"Ask for her number or something when she comes back," Cye chided.   
"Yeah, brainiac, you can't be hitting the books all the time!" Kento added.   
"I don't think that's such a good idea," Rowen muttered. "Something about her..."   
"Oh come on, Rowen we all saw how you guys reacted! Just admit it, you're infatuated! You think I, of all people, would miss the signs?" Sage snapped.   
"I feel something about her," Rowen said, looking toward the kitchen where the girl had disappeared to. "Some kind of affection..."   
"I knew it," Sage whispered.   
"But a different kind," Rowen continued. "Like, different from what Sage feels for every other female walking down the street."   
"That is so not true," Sage laughed. "Your loss, Rowen, I'M going to ask that waitress to see me on her break."   
"You know, Rowen," Cye said, casting a weird glance at Sage. "She looked kind of like you."   
"Maybe you've got a long lost sister," Kento laughed.   
  
Reia leaned against the wall of the bathroom, breathing heavily, heart pounding. She felt around her bag until she found, it, the faded black and white picture. She nearly fainted when she looked at it. The man in the picture was the same one sitting out there. Rowen of Strata, the one she had been searching for. The others must have been the other Ronin Warriors.   
"Now what?" She whispered, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead. 


	2. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

A girl other than Reia brought the food out, and the same girl brought the check.   
"Hey, where's that girl who took our order?" Sage asked as he collected the money everyone had tossed onto the table and handed it all in a big wad to the waitress.   
"Um... who took your order?" The girl asked as she stuffed the money into the pouch on her belt.   
"Her name was Reia," Kento said.   
"Oh, Reia. New gal, kind of keeps to herself. Her shift ends in five minutes." And with that, the brunette was gone. Sage smiled and said if Reia wouldn't agree to see him, he'd track that waitress down.   
When they left the building, Sage parted from the group, saying he was going to wait around for Reia. Rowen went in another direction from the group as well.   
"Hey, Rowen?" Mia called, the breeze whipping her brown hair in several directions. "Where are you going?"   
"Take a walk. Think. Don't worry about me, I'll find my own way back to campus," Rowen called over his shoulder as he thrust his hands into his pockets and went off.   
"Should we pick you up after class?" Ryo asked.   
"Nah. I'll walk home," Rowen called just before disappearing around a corner.  
  
Reia scrubbed most of the makeup off of her face and took her hair out of the buns and braids, letting it cascade in wavy curls down to her waist. She tied it back in a hasty ponytail with a black scrunchie and changed out of the red dress into a wrinkled, tight pair of faded jeans and a black tank top.   
"I'll see you later," She called to another waitress as she left, not even bothering to check who the girl was.   
As she left the restaurant through an alley door she became aware of a presence. She saw a boy about her age leaning against the wall several yards away, wild blond hair flopping over his right eye. He looked like he was waiting for someone.   
"That's one of the guys who was with him," She said to herself, silently fingering the picture in her pocket.   
She walked past him, trying not to attract attention to herself. She wasn't ready to confront any of the Ronin Warriors. Especially not Rowen. That had to come later.   
"Oh, hey!" The boy called as she walked past him. She turned back to look at him, surprised he recognized her.   
"Hi, I'm Sage," He said with a smile, extending his hand. She stared at it.   
"I was in there, in the restaurant. I just wanted to let you know you're the best waitress I ever had!" His grin widened; she finally grasped his hand to shake it.   
"I only took your order," She said with confusion. He didn't let go of her hand. ~ Good grief, this guy isn't coming on to me, is he? ~ She thought to herself.   
Seeing the uncomfortable look appearing on Reia's face, Sage released her hand. She casually wiped the sweat onto the back of her jeans.   
"So... I was wondering, since you've been working hard today and all, if you wanted to go for some coffee or something," Sage said, putting on his best charming smile.   
"Look, ah, Sage, is it?... You're very sweet, but I'm kind of busy today," She said, edging past him.   
"Well, OK, if that's how you feel," Sage replied with a shrug. "Say, where are you staying? I haven't seen you around... something about you just doesn't say 'local'."   
Reia stopped and turned to face Sage again. "I... I'm an exchange student," She lied.   
"Really? Cool, from where?" Sage asked, seemingly eager to know.   
She thought about it for a minute before answering, "China."   
"Well, you speak excellent Japanese," Sage complimented, bowing. "And I must say you're the prettiest Chinese girl I've ever seen."   
Reia blushed and stammered to find a few words. "Well, actually, I am Japanese... My parents are both Japanese, and I was born on, ah..." It took her a minute to try and think of Japan's geography, "I was born in Yokohama. But I grew up in China."   
That actually wasn't an entire lie; Reia did grow up in China, transferring back to Neo-Tokyo City at the age of 14, but 13 years of her life were spent in Beijing.   
"So, you're staying with a Japanese family?" Sage asked, casually leaning against the wall again.   
"...You can say that," Reia responded after a brief hesitation. Actually, she was sleeping wherever she could, she had recently landed a place a Women's Youth Hostile.   
"Well, look at the time," Reia exclaimed, looking at her watch to break the uncomfortable silence and tear her eyes from Sage's gaze. "Maybe... I'll see you later," She added quickly for finally making her escape.   
"Hopefully," Sage called after her.   
~ Something's not right with her. She dodged most of my questions and didn't tell me all the truth, ~ Sage thought darkly. The Warrior of Light was better at seeing through people than his personality put out. ~ Not to mention she didn't want to go out with me, ~ He added, somewhat disappointed. He took one last wistful glance at Reia walking away. One hand in her pocket, head kind of down. Dark blue hair whipping in the breeze. For some reason, he thought of Rowen just then.   
  
Rowen sighed and brushed a leaf from his hair that had fallen from the trees above him. He finally settled down on a bench. He looked around at other people in the park. Children playing in the sandbox, a teenage couple shyly walking around aimlessly hand in hand, an old man with three dogs, and lastly a young couple, probably newlyweds, sitting on a bench across from him, cuddling a small bundle wrapped in a blanket.   
Rowen wondered if he could ever have what these people have. A normal life, a wife, kids... a full time job that he got paid for rather than the one he had at the moment of protecting the world and depending on Mia for a large part of his financial support. He was pretty sure the other guys felt that way often; he knew he did. Another part of him wondered if he really wanted a change in his life.   
He found his mind drifting to the girl from the restaurant, the waitress, Reia. ~ What am I doing?! ~ He wondered to himself. ~ I shouldn't be thinking about her at all... Aw, heck, maybe the others are right, maybe I really do have a crush... ~   
"What is up with me?" Rowen said aloud. A few people gave him strange looks.   
He looked at his watch. 1:45. He had class in 15 minutes, and he dared not be late. Jumping over the bench, he took off at a sprint, hoping he could catch a bus. He caught one at the last minute, and made it back to class on time.   
  
Thankfully, class ended an hour early. Rowen usually relished his time in class, him being the top student, and reading being his true love. But today his mind was preoccupied, and he had left his stuff in Mia's jeep, causing himself to get berated by the professor. The other students found his situation quite humorous. Rowen was itching to get out of the room that day.   
Rowen left campus cursing and mentally slapping himself. ~I can't believe I let some chick at a Chinese restaurant occupy my brain all afternoon...!~ He thought angrily as he boarded a bus to get to the outskirts of town; he could walk the rest of the way back to Mia's place.  
  
Reia smiled, in bliss for the first time since she found herself landed in the 20th century. The forest was beautiful, the foliage allowed only thin streams of clear, prefect light to penetrate, creating dazzling pictures, combinations of light, shadow, and color on the forest floor. She walked until she found a rock jutting over a stream, a waterfall behind it; a great place to meditate. It had been an exciting, but stressful day.  
  
Meanwhile, in the black depths of the Nether World, Talpa sat on his throne. He sat there, his throne, his place as King of the evil realm... but he was a prisoner there. Five chains bound him to his throne, preventing him from moving, or using any power. Five chains. Around his legs, a gold chain glowing with the kanji of justice. His waist was bound by a light blue chain glowing with trust. Around his arms, a darker blue glowing as life force. His shoulders were bound with a green chain, a silent, pulsating glow of wisdom. And around his neck, a red chain, virtue.   
"How are you today, my lord?" A Nether Spirit asked, floating up to Talpa's side.   
"How goes your works on getting me out of here to exact my revenge on the Ronin Warriors?" Talpa asked in a low, threatening voice.   
"Um... well..." The spirit trailed off.   
"Master!" A spirit called, rushing into the throne room and bowing before Talpa.   
"What is it?" Talpa hissed.   
"News, Master. We detect a Ronin Warrior on Earth!"   
"You idiot!" Talpa roared. "I know there are FIVE Ronin Warriors on Earth! Who do you think has me prisoner in my own realm?!"   
"No, Sir... It's a girl." The spirit exclaimed frantically, waving his hands. An image appeared over a candle flame of Reia meditating at the stream's edge.   
Talpa smiled inwardly. The two spirits fidgeted nervously. "She's returned," Talpa murmured.   
"R- Returned, Master?" The first spirit asked meekly.   
Talpa chuckled. "I can't believe it! My master plan to destroy the Ronin Warriors fails with their sudden defeat of me, and Kayura betraying me, and now, the end result is back, in this time, full grown and powered no less!" Talpa let out a full throated guffaw. The two spirits began to laugh with him, but nervously.   
Talpa suddenly stopped laughing. "You laugh at me?!" He roared.   
"Aiiieee! No! Of course not, Master!" The second spirit wailed, groveling at Talpa's chained feet.   
"Kill her! Eliminate her! I don't care if you have to send out a hundred soldiers, I want the girl's head!" Talpa shrieked as the two spirits floated out as fast as they could go.   
"Wait!" Talpa cried suddenly. The second spirit stopped, almost shaking.   
"I want you to organize an army of soldiers and Nether Spirits. I want you to find and retrieve a few deserters... my former Warlords, Cayle, Dais, and Sehkmet. Bring that traitorous wench Kayura as well. I will need them if I am going to successfully overcome this new threat to my empire."   
"Y-Yes, Milord," The spirit squawked before fleeing in the same fashion at the other one.  
  
Reia opened her eyes suddenly, her meditation disturbed by a sound not native to these woods. The footsteps of several people... and the clanking of armor.   
"Oh, shi- ACK!" Reia's curse under her breath was cut off by a strong, bulky arm wrapping around her neck. She only had enough breath for one scream.  
  
Rowen hadn't gotten very far into the woods before he heard it... a scream. A young girl's strangled cry. Someone in trouble. He didn't hesitate long before running towards the sound, crashing through the foliage rather ungracefully in the effort for speed. He fell down once, and when he got up to continue running, as he could still hear the cries, only they were fading, and his leg screamed with pain with every step.  
  
Reia heaved with all her strength and managed to get the first soldier off of her. Being very weak, she avoided another blow by accident when she fell down, rolled down the rock, and fell into the stream. She gasped and struggled to get out of the water... and ended up falling into deeper water and being pulled under by currents because of an ill placed kick from a soldier.   
Her vision swimming and head spinning, she searched numbly for something to grab under the water. Her sense of direction was messed up and she knew she'd drown if she didn't do something. She hit a rock suddenly and broke the surface, gasping and sputtering. The soldiers had not lost her, they were coming for her again. She was in pain, and weak. She knew she couldn't fight them all.  
  
Rowen broke into the clearing where the stream was... and recoiled in horror and anger at what he saw... several Dynasty Soldiers, attacking a wet, bedraggled and beaten looking girl. She ran along the banks of the stream, splashing, tripping and falling, getting up and running again. Desperately and weakly avoiding and blocking blows. Her long blue hair hung tangled down her back and clung to her forehead in a bloody mess.   
Rowen felt his blood boiling, rising in anger.   
"Hey!" Rowen shouted, chucking the biggest rock he could find at the nearest soldier. "Why don't you creeps pick on someone your own size?!"   
As he rushed the nearest soldier to him, his clothes transformed into the dark blue and white suit of body armor.   
After defeating a few soldiers, it became clear he couldn't keep this up for long. He began slowing down, and his leg began to protest further activity again. More blows landed on him than he would have liked...   
Reia picked herself up off the ground and shook her head to clear her vision. The Dynasty soldiers had stopped attacking... but why? Then she saw they were all ganged up on Rowen, who was trying to fight them all. She wanted to scream at him to transform... but she couldn't find the strength or the courage to admit she knew anything. ~ You fool... why don't you?! ~ She thought desperately before weakly falling back onto the ground.   
"A- Armor of Strata!... Dao Inochi!!!" Rowen finally cried, holding his hands in the air. The cherry blossoms drifted into the air from nowhere. Reia had the others transform into their armor before, and she had done it herself, many times, in the future she came from. But somehow it was more breathtaking this time.   
"OK now I'm ready to rumble with you guys!" Rowen shouted, jumping backwards and grabbing his bow as it materialized in the air in front of him.   
Reia felt a new strength flowing into her she groaned and painfully stood up... but her legs felt strong. Her forehead was warm, tingling... she figured her kanji was burning. This had never happened before... It had to be being around Rowen...   
"ARROW... SHOCK... WAVE!!!" Rowen cried, releasing his special attack on the soldiers. It was only then that he noticed Reia standing behind the soldiers... in the path of the wave.   
~ Oh my God!!! ~ Reia and Rowen thought simultaneously as they both realized what was about to happen. Rowen tried to make a jump for her, she only put her arms out in front of her. Rowen reached her just as the shock wave did... He grabbed her and tried to throw her down, the wave hitting him in the back, sending them both flying.   
Reia's eyes flashed white as her feet hit the ground again rather than falling on her back with Rowen on top of her. She quickly built a large force field around them, the brunt of Rowen's wave hitting her force field. The result: Big energy explosion. This time they did hit the ground, although relatively uninjured. Not surprising for Rowen to be in good shape, but Reia, an unarmed 16 year old girl?   
They laid on the ground for several minutes before moving. Reia opened her eyes and painfully lifted her head. The trees all around her destroyed, rocks blown up, and they were in a huge crater. Rowen was sprawled over her, seemingly unconscious.   
"Good God," Reia exclaimed, looking around. She sat up to get a better look of things, holding Rowen's head in her lap.   
"Are you OK?" She whispered, brushing some hair back from his face. "Wake up!"   
"Oh... augh... God, where am I?..." Rowen mumbled as he opened his eyes. They widened in alarm as he realized he did not recognize his surroundings. "What the-" He cried, sitting up. "Who are you?! What happened here?"   
Reia quickly put on a "hysterical-not-too-bright-damsel-in-distress" demeanor. She wasn't a bad actress.   
"Oh, oh my God, there were all there horrible guys, and they jumped me, and then you came and fought them, and there were lights, and explosions, and, Ohmygod it was so scary!" She cried all in one breath before bursting into theatrical tears.   
"Um... Oh jeez," Rowen stammered. The Armor of Strata faded back into his regular clothes. "Hey, girl, don't cry or anything. It's OK now, all right?" He put his hands on her shoulders to try to comfort her.   
It was hard for Reia not to grin. ~ He bought it, hook, line, and sinker, ~ She thought with smug satisfaction.   
"Come on, let's get out of here," Rowen said, trying to stand up. He cried out in pain and fell back to his knees.   
"You're not going anywhere on that leg," Reia exclaimed, putting her hand on the calf of the injured knee. "Feels like you pulled a muscle," She observed. "Trying to save me..." She added finally. "I'm sorry."   
They made eye contact again. "Don't worry about it, I'm fine," Rowen muttered. ~ Too creepy. She looks just like me... and why were those soldiers attacking her? ~   
"Come on, then," Reia said, standing up. She offered a hand to Rowen. "I think I can help you along. You don't look so heavy now that you got your armor off."   
"No, I can walk-" Rowen groaned and almost collapsed again, but Reia quickly slipped an arm around him to hold him up.   
It took a little effort to get out of the crater, what with Rowen's bad leg, and Reia being physically smaller and weaker than Rowen, she could not just pull him out of the hole, and he could not just climb out. They finally reached ground level muddy and tired. She was glad no one else had been around to witness the spectacle.   
"No what?" She gasped, breathing heavily. "We're in the middle of the forest, you're hurt, and I don't think I can support you for very long."   
"My friends will show up eventually," Rowen said, rolling over onto his side. "So I guess we just wait."   
"Wait, huh?" Reia responded, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.   
"So what were you doing out here anyway?" Rowen asked after a long period of uncomfortable silence.   
"I could ask you the same question," Reia responded sharply.   
"I was going back to where I stay," Rowen replied, figuring there was no good reason to keep it a secret.   
"You live out here?" Reia whispered, looking around. "You're lucky."   
Rowen shook his head. "I dunno... I feel like I'm mooching. Me an' the guys, we're staying at a friend's house. She's practically supporting us."   
"The guys?" Reia asked. She knew who he was talking about, but she was still acting.   
"My friends," Rowen answered. He looked at Reia closely. "You're that waitress from the Chinese restaurant, aren't you?"   
She nodded. "I came out here to clear my head... think, meditate, you know... so... those guys you were with, I assume those are the friends you were talking about? And that girl must own the house you're staying at, am I right?"   
Rowen nodded. "Mia does a lot for us... we're all really grateful to her."   
"Tell me about your friends," Reia said. She was tempted to say, "The Ronin Warriors," But she knew she could not.   
So Rowen took the time to fill in Reia about the personalities, likes, dislikes, etc. about the other Ronin Warriors. It did not escape him how she was hanging on his every word, actually paying attention.   
"You know... I think my leg's a little better now," Rowen finally commented at the end of his descriptions. He stood up weakly but did not fall.   
"It's getting dark," Reia observed, looking up at the sky. "I still don't think you can make it home by yourself."   
"And you shouldn't go off alone," Rowen replied.  
  
"Rowen should be back by now," Mia commented, leaning over Cye's shoulder to look out the window of the kitchen.   
"You know Rowen... probably stopped by the library after class and lost track of time," Cye laughed. "Watch out, Mia, I'm going to open the oven."   
"You really don't have to cook every night, Cye... you're a guest in my house," Mia said as she moved aside so Cye could open up the oven and check on his lasagna.   
"A guest who's been crashing at your house for almost a year now?" Cye responded. "It's the least I can do. Besides, you know how much I enjoy it..."   
"Still..." Mia protested.   
"And besides... the guys took a vote and decided they prefer me to cook," Cye continued with a smirk.   
"My cooking is just fine, just ask Kento," Mia cried, punching Cye playfully in the arm.   
"Kento would eat his own armor if he got hungry enough," Cye muttered.   
"I heard that," Mia responded, trying not to laugh.   
"Hey that's not true!" Kento cried, coming up behind them. "Ooh, I smell Cye's special lasagna!" Kento bent down to peer into the oven window.   
"In a half an hour, you bottomless pit," Cye exclaimed, politely moving Kento out of the way. "Why don't you go... I don't know, wash up or something?"   
"Yes, mother," Kento replied, adding a sarcastic bow before sauntering out of the kitchen.   
Kento went into the living room and passed Sage, who was laying on the couch listening to a Heart Brigade CD on his Diskman... and singing along.   
"Don't quit the day job," Kento shouted, plucking the headphones from Sage's ears. Sage only laughed and put the headphones back on, making a face at Kento.   
"All I wanna do..." Sage sang with the CD. Kento shrugged and went to the stairs.   
"Is dinner ready yet?" Ryo called, coming halfway down the stairs as Kento was halfway up.   
"In a little while, you guys," Mia called, coming out of the kitchen. Suddenly the front door burst open and Rowen and a young woman staggered in, both dirty, injured, and tired looking.   
"All I wanna do is make love to you- Oh my God!" Sage cried, jolted out of his little musical daydream. He whipped the headphones off and sat up in alarm.   
"Rowen!" Mia cried. "What happened to you?!"   
Cye came out of the kitchen then, staring at the scene before him in disbelief. "Um... should I set an extra place for dinner?" Was the only thing he could come up with to say. 


	3. Like Father, Like Daughter

"Rowen, here, lay down... what happened?" Sage exclaimed, moving off of the couch and helping Rowen get there.   
Reia recounted the story of the Dynasty attack, still keeping up her damsel in distress form.   
"Good God," Ryo muttered, running his fingers through his hair. "I never thought it would start over again..." Soon the guys were all firing questions at Rowen and Reia a mile a minute.   
"Why don't we let them rest, get something to eat, and we'll talk about this in the morning?" Mia suggested. "Reia, I suggest you stay here tonight... you can call the family you're staying with and let them know where you are."   
"Arigato, Mia-San," Reia said softly, bowing. She went into the kitchen and dialed the Instant Weather Report Number.   
"Hi... Mrs. Ayono? Yeah, it's Reia... listen, I got really caught up in studies tonight... I'm staying over with a friend... Yeah, Her name's Mia... OK, thanks, I'll see you later."   
"The time is 9:00 PM at the beep," The computerized voice said as she hung up. She figured everyone believed she had talked to someone.  
  
Sage picked up the phone in his room he shared with Rowen, who was zonked out on his bed. "The time is 9:00 PM at the beep," A computerized voice said.   
"What the-... so, she didn't call 'home' after all..." Sage muttered to himself. He waited for the click of Reia hanging up before hanging it up himself.   
Sage walked over to Rowen's bed and casually threw an extra blanket over him before going to his own bed. ~ What's up with that girl?... I've got a strange feeling about her... I don't know if she can be trusted, ~ He thought just as he drifted off to sleep.  
  
"Cye?" Kento's voice penetrated the darkness.   
"Hmm... What is it, Kento?" Cye's voice sounded sleepy.   
"What do you think about that girl, Reia?"   
"She's nice," Cye replied. He sounded a little irritated.   
"No.. I mean, like... do you think she's trustworthy?"   
Cye reached over to his night stand and turned the lamp on. "I must admit that she is a little fishy... She's nervous, and her story doesn't make much sense... I don't know why, but I feel like I should trust her anyway. Just a gut feeling I have."   
"Well, if you believe in her, Cye, your word's good enough for me," Kento said, rolling over. Soon he was snoring.   
~ Now I can't sleep, ~ Cye thought wearily, staring up at the ceiling.  
  
The next morning Reia woke up to the smell of bacon, eggs, and toast. She found a robe folded up on a chair waiting for her, which she put on before going downstairs.   
"Oh, you're up," Mia said cheerfully as Reia came down the stairs.   
"Hi," She said.   
"Cye's serving breakfast in the kitchen."   
"Thanks, Mia, for being so nice to me," Reia whispered before going into the kitchen.   
"Hey, Reia!" Kento greeted her as cheerfully as Mia had.   
"Good morning," She said, waving nervously. Kento was at the table putting away food like there was no tomorrow, Cye was mixing up some batter, probably for pancakes, and Sage was leaning against the wall, looking at a newspaper.   
"Help yourself to something... I'm afraid I made too much again," Cye nodded in Reia's direction. His face was flushed from the heat of the grill he was cooking on. Reia realized what an adorable smile he had, too.   
"Thank you," She finally croaked out before taking a seat at the table.   
"M-Hey, Reia... try the scrambled eggs... they're really good. Cye has some kind of special spice he uses," Kento said with a mouthful of bacon as he handed the plate to her.   
~ He's so friendly and boisterous... Just like Xanthe... ~ She felt a sudden pang of longing for her comrades.. and for her mother. ~ I wonder if they're all right... the last thing I saw was Mom falling when I fell into the time vortex... Where did that come from anyway? There had to be a reason for me to be here, in the 20th century, in the presence of the original Ronin Warriors... ~   
"What's the matter? Don't you like the eggs?" Cye's voice interrupted her from her melancholy day dream. He had placed a concerned hand on her shoulder.   
"I.. I..." She flushed and looked down. "I'm sorry... I just really don't have much of an appetite this morning."   
"I can understand that, after what you were through last night. Don't worry about it. If you're hungry later you can always eat then," Cye gave her a friendly smile as he took her plate over to the sink. She couldn't help but smile. She felt warm inside, for the first time in a long while. ~ Cye reminds me of Lysithea so much it's almost scary... she's just as soft spoken, and kind... But I think he might actually be cuter... ~   
"Hey, look who's joined the land of the living!" Ryo announced as he came into the kitchen, Rowen behind him.   
"How you feeling?" Sage asked.   
"Need coffee, talk later," Rowen mumbled, waving a hand at Sage.   
"Over there," Cye pointed at the coffee pot. Rowen grunted something unintelligible and shuffled in the general direction. Reia had trouble stopping herself from giggling.   
"Um, Mia, I was thinking," Ryo started and then stopped, as all heads turned in his direction.   
"OH..." Kento suddenly exclaimed loudly. "I'm going to... ah... go for a run," He said, picking up his plate and quickly exiting the room.   
"You know, I just remembered that I'm all out of oregano... can't make my spaghetti sauce tonight without it," Cye said absentmindedly, exiting as discreetly as Kento had.   
"Come on, Rowen, let's get some fresh air," Sage said, dragging Rowen along. "Join us, Reia?"   
"Um... sure," She said, realizing what was going on.  
  
"Mia, I was just wondering if you wanted to catch a movie or something today," Ryo continued, leaning against the counter.   
"I can't, Ryo, I'm baby-sitting today," Mia replied as she began to fill the sink with water to do the dishes.   
"Man," Ryo sighed. "When do you have to go?"   
"Actually, he's coming here," Mia said just as the back door opened and Kento came back inside, carrying a giggling little boy on his shoulders.   
"Found this outside," He laughed, putting Yulie on the counter.   
"Hi, Ryo!" Yulie cried, waving.   
"Hey, little dude, what's up?" Ryo laughed. Yulie almost always put him in a good mood.   
"Guess what! I'm gonna stay here all afternoon with you guys 'cause my parents had to go out of town for shopping, and they said it wouldn't be very much fun for me, so Mia offered to baby-sit me. Isn't that cool? I can play with you guys all day now!"   
"Hey, you bet, little man!" Kento said, pausing to stuff another piece of toast into his mouth. "Come on, let's go find Cye," He said, lifting Yulie onto his shoulders again.   
"Oh boy!" Yulie cried, ducking his head to avoid conking it on the doorframe.   
Reia came down the stairs wearing shorts and a green tank top she had borrowed from Mia.   
"Hi... Who is this, Kento?" She asked softly, leaning against the wall.   
"Oh, Reia, this is Yulie. Mia's baby-sitting him today. Yulie, Reia's a friend of ours who's gonna hang around today," Kento explained to both parties.   
"Is she another one of Sage's girlfriends?" Yulie asked Kento, with his inability to whisper all people under the age of twelve suffer from.   
"Not yet, but who knows what the future will bring?" Sage's voice came behind her; she jumped and blushed.   
"Yikes... gonna get burned if we stay in here too long, Yulie. The sparks are flying," Kento muttered, heading out the front door.   
"Sorry 'bout that," Sage said, edging next to Reia. The staircase was just barely wide enough for them to stand side by side, making him very close. "You know how kids are..."   
"Y-You didn't have to encourage him," She murmured, avoiding eye contact.   
"How can I ever make up my actions to you?" Sage whispered, running a hand down her arm. Her heart skipped a few beats.   
"I... I think Mia and Ryo could use some help clearing dishes," She exclaimed, breaking away from the uncomfortable situation and running to the kitchen.   
Sage leaned against the banister with a sigh. ~ She's so skittish, ~ He thought to himself. ~ Or am I coming on too strongly? ~   
Reia splashed some cold water onto her face when she got to the kitchen.   
"What's the matter?" Mia asked. Ryo paused in his drying of a glass.   
"N-Nothing... nothing at all," She gasped. "I... I just thought you'd need some help." ~ Why did Sage's advances scare me so much? ~ She wondered. ~ He is pretty cute, after all... ~ She looked over at Mia and Ryo washing dishes, looking almost like a married couple. ~ Then again, all of the guys around here aren't bad looking... Kento even has a certain charm. ~ An image flashed into her mind of the smile Cye gave her at the breakfast table. ~ THAT was the most adorable smile I've ever seen, ~ She almost shouted inside herself, and, unknowingly, sighed.   
"Look at that silly grin," Mia whispered to Ryo, just loudly enough for Reia to hear. "I've seen it before..."   
Ryo looked over at a now embarrassed and flushed Reia, trying not to laugh. "Sage does that to women."   
~ Oh my God, ~ She groaned inside. "I don't know what you're talking about!" She protested. They didn't believe her; they simply laughed and returned to their previous task.   
She went back out into the living room when that chore was done to find Rowen and Sage in there, seemingly waiting for her.   
"It's twenty questions time," Rowen said, opening the door. "Let's go outside."   
~ Oh no! ~ Reia cried inwardly.   
"First of all, we want the truth about where you're staying," Sage said as soon as they were on the porch.   
"What do you mean?" Reia asked, heart pounding.   
"We know you're not really staying with some family," Sage answered. "So where are you staying? Are you even an exchange student?"   
"I... I..." Reia stammered, searching for an answer. "What makes you question me at all?!" She suddenly burst out.   
"Reia, enough with the act... we know you're not an exchange student... so level with us," Rowen sighed.   
~ God, Rowen, how I wish I could tell you, ~ She thought, staring at him sadly.   
"I can't tell you the WHOLE truth yet," She whispered.   
"You can't?" Sage asked, his voice implying maybe he didn't hear her right.   
Suddenly the air grew still, and Reia could feel a strange, familiar energy. Her scalp prickled and Sage and Rowen tensed up. The energy of one of the Armors.   
There was a bright flash of light and a glowing orb appeared in the middle of the deck. A figure materialized on the porch, a man's figure. Reia's heart nearly stopped when she recognized him. Wild, dark blue hair, a scar on one side of his face. Cayle.   
Her eye's grew wide and she could only manage a strangled cry of surprise. Rowen and Sage shot each other worried glances.   
"Y-Y-you... you just..." She stammered, pointing at Cayle.   
"Reia, look, we can explain," Rowen started, putting his hands on her shoulders. She snapped at that point, not even hearing him. There was no more time to hide, or pretend. She refused to play damsel in distress in front of a Dark Warlord.   
"Murderer!!!" She screamed, lunging at him. "I came into the past to stop you and your wicked comrades!..."   
"What the-" Cayle exclaimed as he dodged her attack. "What are you raving about, girl?!"   
"I'm here to send you back to the hell you came from!!!" She screamed, attacking again. A blue energy was building up around her.   
"R-Reia?..." Sage stammered.   
"I cannot hide it any longer... I will destroy you, Dark Warlord of Corruption, and then you friends!"   
Rowen and Sage both did a double take. Ryo came out of the house just then.   
"What's all the yelling?... Woah, Cayle! Reia?!"   
"...For me, my future, my parents, and my friends, vile Dynasty slime..."   
"Don't follow us, we're lost, too," Rowen muttered as equally puzzled Yulie, Kento, and Cye approached.   
"Reia, stop trying to fight him!" Cye shouted.   
"You don't have to protect me, Cye of Torrent!" She shouted.   
"What?" He exclaimed, stopping.   
"...DAO INOCHI!!!" Reia screamed, transforming into the dark blue and white body armor.   
"No way!" Rowen shouted. "That's MY armor!!!"   
Momentarily distracted by Rowen's outburst, Reia paused long enough for Kento to tackle her.   
"OWW! Kento!" She screamed. "Get off me! He's evil, why don't you fight him?!?"   
"I think you have a few questions to answer first!" Kento hissed and he pressed his weight down on her back, pulling on her arm.   
"Madam," Cayle said, leaning forward to meet Reia eye to eye. "I'm afraid you are mistaken. I no longer bear the name Warlord of Corruption... My Armor is the Armor of Obedience."   
"No, if that were TRUE, would I be a Ronin Warrior?!" Reia shot back. "You're hurting me, Kento!"   
"It has to be a trick, guys," Kento snarled.   
"I agree, a trick," Rowen echoed. "What game are you playing with us?!" He yelled at Reia.   
"It's not a game," She whispered, tears rolling down her face.   
"Get off of her, Kento! Maybe she could answer our questions better if she could breath!" Ryo exclaimed.   
White Blaze came out of the house just then, yawning after a long afternoon nap. He looked at Reia and Cayle and the hairs on his back prickled. He stepped towards her, growling lowly.   
"No, White Blaze," She whispered. "You know me..."   
He sniffed Reia, let out a puzzled sound, sniffed her again, and then laid her head in her lap, letting out a gutteral tiger purr.   
"You're so young, White Blaze," She whispered. "It's good to see a familiar face."   
"Um, excuse me," Rowen said, tapping on her shoulder. "JUST WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON??? WHY ARE YOU IN MY ARMOR?!"   
There was another burst of light and a woman materialized. Lady Kayura.   
"Kayura!" Ryo exclaimed.   
"Did Cayle give you my message? I have a terrible feeling something dreadful is about to happen..." Kayura trailed off as her eyes set on Reia. Both women uttered a stifled gasp.   
"R-Reia... Is it really you?!..." Kayura mumbled, stepping forward.   
"That does it, I quit," Sage groaned, hanging his head.   
"This is like the Twilight Zone," Cye muttered.   
"Mother!" Reia cried, rushing to Kayura's outstretched arms and embracing her. "Y-you... My God, how young you are!"   
"Hey! Since when did you have a daughter?!" Ryo cried.   
"Rowen..." Kayura whispered, looking over at him. "This is Reia... our daughter."   
A wave of shock rang throughout the entire group. Rowen felt his legs give underneath him as he collapsed onto the porch.   
"We'll have a lot of explaining to do when he comes to," Kayura muttered. 


	4. Destiny?

"OK, so let me get this straight," Kento said for about the ten thousandth time. "Reia is your daughter?"   
"That's right," Kayura and Reia both nodded.   
"And... Rowen is her father?" Sage asked.   
Kayura nodded.   
"How is that possible?!" Ryo burst out, jumping to his feet. "She's our age if she's a day! The only way she could be Rowen's daughter is if she was from... I dunno, the future or something!"   
"I AM, Ryo," Reia said, looking down.   
It had been about two hours since the unexpected arrival of Kayura. Sehkmet and Dais had arrived as well and now the whole group was gathered in Mia's living room. During the entire exchange between Kayura and the other Ronin Warriors, Rowen and the Warlords remained silent.   
"So why is it you know what's going on?" Cye asked Kayura.   
"I suppose, to avoid any further confusion... I must tell you the whole story, as much as I know... or think I know... myself," Lady Kayura said. She took a deep breath before beginning.   
"It all goes back to before you defeated Talpa. The Warlords and myself were still working for him at the time. Sage, Cye, and Kento were already captured when you met me, as you know," The three mentioned Ronins looked a little uneasy at the mention of their captivity by the Dynasty, but Kayura paid them no mind. "I suppose Talpa and his spirit advisors had been talking about it for some time. Why not have Kayura get pregnant? Would the Ronin Warriors hurt a woman who was carrying one of their children? So after one of my early battles, I was taken by Badamon and some soldiers to be inspected. They found some of Rowen's blood on my clothes. Using a sample of his DNA, they performed some kind of," Her voice choked, "Experiment on me... I never even knew I was with child until after the final defeat of the Dynasty... When Reia was born, I knew, I just knew who her father had to be... even as an infant her resemblance to Rowen was striking."   
"So if your story's true, she should still be a baby," Kento pointed out.   
"I am from the future," Reia reminded them, then grew quiet after the looks she received,   
"I sent Reia into the future, to be raised by my future self," Kayura explained. "I was still worried that the Dynasty was not totally banished from Earth. Sending her away was one of the hardest decisions I ever made."   
"But she has the Armor of Strata," Ryo said, trailing off.   
"I don't know, how, or why, but eventually the Dynasty will break loose... and you five will suffer defeat," Kayura said, staring directly at Ryo.   
"Then it's inevitable?" Cye murmured.   
"No," Reia responded then, turning to face Cye. "The Dynasty did not rightfully leave the realm."   
"Come again?" Sage asked.   
"They had some sort of outside help," Kayura explained. "And we think they time traveled, even. Therefore, if we can help you defeat the Dynasty in this time..."   
"There will be peace in my era... and my father might even still be alive," Reia finished for her.   
Rowen got up suddenly and walked to the door.   
"Where're you off to?" Ryo asked.   
"I have to think," Rowen said, practically slamming the door behind him. Kayura and Reia both winced a bit. Soon everyone, even the three Warlords, made some kind of excuse to go somewhere or do something else.  
  
"Still think she can be trusted?" Kento asked, looking squarely at Cye, who remained silent.   
"Lady Kayura wouldn't lie to us," Sage said, leaning against the wall. It was late that evening. Reia had gone out for a walk, and Ryo, Sage, Cye, and Kento were discussing the current situation. Rowen was isolated in him room.   
"Would she?" Ryo responded.   
"What would she have to gain from this? This isn't the Dynasty's kind of trick and you guys bloody well know it," Cye burst out. It was one of the few things he had said to the others since the little meeting had begun.   
"Are you OK?" Kento asked. "You've been quieter than usual."   
"I don't want to talk about it," Cye said, heading for the door.   
"Now where are YOU going?" Sage exclaimed in exasperation.   
"Rowen isn't the only one who needs to think," Cye grumbled as he left.   
"Man," Ryo sighed, running his hands through his hair. "I'd rather face a thousand Dynasty soldiers than deal with this situation."   
"I can't believe I hit on Rowen's daughter," Sage said with a slight shudder. "Too creepy."   
"So what if this whole thing is true? What then?" Ryo wondered aloud.   
"Got me, buddy... but you know, someone oughtta talk to Rowen," Sage said, opening a can of soda. "He's probably torn apart by this whole thing."   
Catching Sage's drift, Ryo looked at his shoes. "I'll talk to him... eventually. Before I go to bed tonight... although I don't think I'll sleep much."   
"Me, neither," Sage replied with a huge sigh followed by a deep swig of his soda. "Me, neither."   
  
The wind whipped Reia's hair around, and the moist air made her skin clammy. She had removed her shoes and was walking barefoot along the edge of the lake, in the surf up to her ankles.   
~ God, none of this went the way I wanted it to, ~ She thought sadly. ~ I don't think Rowen... or any of them, for that matter, will ever accept me. ~ She bent down and found a smooth, flat stone, and threw it out onto the water. It skipped three times before sinking.   
"You're pretty good at that," An English voice said behind her. She jumped and did a 180 degree twirl.   
"Cye!" She half screamed. "You scared me!"   
"You're still awful skittish. So that wasn't apart of the whole act you were putting on for us? It was a marvelous show, really it was," Cye said. His tone sounded like he intended the words to be hurtful but he had a smile on his face.   
"That's not fair, Cye," She said, turning away. "If you were in a situation like mine how would you have treated it?"   
"Probably the same," He replied with a shrug.   
After a long silence, Reia said, "Look... I know you guys will probably never believe me... and if you do come to, you'll never accept me. You must know that I never intended to upset you all so much," She turned to walk away, and found Cye keeping pace with her.   
"What are you feeling?" Cye asked her at length.   
"Pardon?" She exclaimed, surprised by his inquiry.   
"I asked what's going on in your head," He said.   
"Woah, a guy who wants to discuss feelings?" Reia exclaimed. "You're a member of an endangered species, Cye."   
"I'm serious!" Cye exclaimed.   
"To tell you the truth, I'm not sure what to think, or feel. I grew up with only my mom around... she never even had a boyfriend, so there's never been any male role model in my life whatsoever."   
"I know how you feel," Cye replied.   
"People always say that, but they can never know how it feels unless they're in my shoes," Reia answered bitterly.   
"I grew up without my dad around, too," Cye murmured.   
"Really?" She asked, stopping.   
"Yeah... I never knew him... my mom had boyfriends come and go, but she never married anyone. My mom and my sister, they were really good to me. I guess maybe that's why I'm into cooking and stuff, I dunno. A lot of people question my... preferences when they first meet me," Cye admitted with a laugh.   
"I think it's very cool that you are a guy and such a great cook at the same time," She said, touching his arm. "I deal with ignorant people just about every day of my life. I know what it's like."   
Cye nodded. "I've learned to ignore people like that. They don't know any better."   
"But... you know, it's like, one minute, I'm fighting in a battle, the next, I'm laying half naked, dazed and confused, in a parking lot somewhere," Reia said. "It took me almost a month to figure out I was in the 20th Century... I knew my father was Ronin Warrior, and alive... so I figured finding him would be the best thing... and when I saw him... saw all of you yesterday... My insides nearly burst. A mix of happiness, excitement, sadness, fear, all going a million miles per hour in my stomach."   
"It's true, isn't it?" Cye whispered.   
"Of course it's true, why would I make that up?!" Reia exclaimed, offended.   
"I...I don't know what I meant by that..." Cye leaned forward to look at Reia closely. His face was only about a foot away from hers. She felt her pulse quicken. "If it's any consolation to you... I think you really are who you say you are. When I look at you, I see Rowen... and I see Kayura, too."   
Her heart leapt into her throat and she could feel tears of relief brimming in her eyes. "Y-You... you really believe me, Cye?"   
Cye nodded. Reia felt his cool hand on her hot cheek. She closed her eyes and felt his fingers brush momentarily against her lips and her eyelashes.   
"Cye-" She choked out, but he put a finger on her lips to shush her.   
"Just listen to that," He said in a low voice. "The water lapping against the rocky sand..."   
Cye's heart was actually pounding as hard as Reia's, unbeknownst to both parties. The girl who claimed to be Rowen's daughter from the future stirred something within him that he'd never felt before, although he'd known her less than two days, it felt odd. Like... Destiny?  
  
Rowen stared out the window at the countless stars in the night sky. Confusion and just about every emotion were all swirling around in his gut and in his head. So many questions... First and foremost, is it true? Rowen had a feeling it was, but he was almost hoping it wasn't. Should he accept it, or refuse to, and pretend she doesn't exist? He knew it would be possible to live life and not accept it, although it would torment him anyway, but running away was not a true option. ~ I am a Ronin Warrior. I don't run away from anything, ~ He thought decisively.   
But he still didn't want to accept it. He secretly hoped maybe this was all a nightmare.   
There was a soft knock at his door.   
"Come in," He called after a brief hesitation. Ryo entered and softly closed the door behind him.   
"Hey, Rowen," He said, leaning against the wall. "Wanna talk?"   
"Not particularly," Rowen replied, turning over on his bed and reaching for a book on his night stand. Ryo was suddenly at his side. He tore the book out of his hand and threw it on the floor.   
"Tough," Ryo muttered.   
"Hey!" Rowen yelled.   
Seeing his friend's hurt expression, Ryo softened a little. "I'm sorry... if you really aren't ready to talk, I'll just go."   
"No, it's all right," Rowen said, placing his book back on the night stand. "I'll talk with you."   
"How you feeling?" Ryo asked, sitting on Sage's bed across from Rowen.   
"All right, I guess," Rowen replied.   
Ryo raised and eyebrow and stared at Rowen. "Rowen?"   
He sighed and looked away from his friend. "I don't know what to think, Ryo... how would you feel if this happened to you?"   
"How on earth should I know?!" Ryo exclaimed. "This is that last thing I expected to happen!"   
"My point exactly!" Rowen explained. "I... I'm just so dazed and confused... What if it's ture, Ryo? What if Reia is my daughter?!"   
"I don't know, Rowen... I'm sorry I can't give you any answers... you must have a million questions."   
"Got that right," Rowen grumbled. "It's so bizarre... yesterday afternoon, in the park, I was looking at the other people. I wondered if I'd ever be married, or even have a steady girlfriend. Ryo, I even wondered if I'd have kids someday!"   
"We've all thought about stuff like that, Rowen-"   
"No, I mean... isn't it weird? I've felt strange, like something big was gonna happen, for almost a month now! It just kept getting stronger, day after day!" Rowen interrupted Ryo. "And I have a feeling what Reia says is true..."   
"We have no proof yet," Ryo reminded him. "I'm sure you and Reia can easily have DNA testing done."   
"We'll have to," Rowen sighed. "We have to have proof. But Ryo... God... I'm scared," He admitted, hanging his head in his hands. "What will I do if I really am her father? I can't just brush her off... but it's too late for me to try and..." He trailed off.   
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Ryo said, placing a comforting hand on Rowen's shoulder.   
He left Rowen's room then. Closing the door behind him. ~ Rowen's such a good guy, ~ He thought to himself. ~ I know he constantly feels the burden of responsibility, and he burns to do what's right... but how in the world do we figure out what's right in this situation? ~  
  
"It's so tranquil," Reia murmured. "I don't think there's much land left as pure as this in my time..." She uncomfortably broke from Cye's gaze to skip another rock on the water.   
"That's basically what it's like now," Cye said sadly. "It's a real shame."   
"Xanthe would love to see this lake," Reia said wistfully.   
"Who's that?" Cye asked, trying to mask his concern. "Your boyfriend?"   
"Who, Xanthe?" Reia chuckled. "No, he's not my boyfriend. He's one of my comrades in the future."   
"Which armor does he wear?" Cye asked, skipping a rock of his own on the smooth water.   
"Hardrock. Some of his personality traits remind me of Kento... he's really outgoing, but the similarities kind of end there..." She took a deep breath and tried to stop the quiver in her voice. "Cye, I really miss my friends..."   
"I wish I could help," Cye said softly, putting his hands on her shoulders.   
"I'm sorry," She said, wiping away a stray tear. "I'm being silly."   
"There's nothing wrong with homesickness," Cye assured her with a smile.   
They had nearly walked around the whole lake at this point. Reia wandered along the edge, where it had grown rather rocky. The bank had grown to be about five feet above the water. "The edge is a little slippery," Cye cautioned her.   
"Don't worry, I'll be careful," She assured him. "I'm a regular cat-" No sooner had the word "cat" passed her lips, the a wet rock shifted under her foot. She was too surprised to even utter an expletive before plunging into the cold water. When she surfaced she had plenty of breath for them, however.   
"Here, give me your hand," Cye said, leaning over the edge of the rock.   
"I can get out by myself," She muttered, treading water. "Just as soon as I find a good foothold." She tried to lift herself out and fell back in.   
"Come on! Jeez, you're as stubborn as Rowen is!" Cye was on his stomach, hanging his hand over the edge. Reia finally conceded, and used the rocks to get herself high enough so she could grab Cye's hand. He brought his other one down and grabbed her other one. After a strenuous bit of pulling, he had hoisted her up high enough that she could drag herself over the side.   
"Man," Cye groaned, flopping onto his back as Reia fell onto her stomach over him.   
"I'm sorry," She said, lifting herself up on her arms and looking down at him. "You got all wet and dirty helping me out because I did something dumb."   
"It was my pleasure," Cye laughed. He reached up and brushed a strand of hair out of Reia's eyes. His hand then remained on her face. "I could not leave someone as pretty as you floundering around in the lake."   
Reia blushed and Cye could feel the heat rise in her cheek. "Do you really think I'm pretty?" She asked, dazed.   
"Yes," He replied, his hand traveling from her face to the back of her neck, then to her back, pushing her gently downwards. She slowly bent her arms and lowered herself over Cye. He put his other arm around her and their lips met in a tender kiss. Reia could feel his heart pounding against her chest, and he could probably feel hers as well.   
~ What am I doing?! ~ She thought suddenly as her eyes snapped open.   
"No," She exclaimed, pulling herself away and sitting up.   
"What's the matter?" Cye asked, getting up as well.   
"I'm sorry, Cye, it's just that I just met you, and... and this can't work, it CAN'T!" Reia burst out, turning and running down the beach.   
"Reia!" He called after her, but she ignored him. She ran the whole way back to Mia's house, not stopping until she was in the bathroom with the door locked. She tore her clothes from her body and turned the shower on full blast, not caring that the water was cold. After her initial freak out ended, she turned the water to a warmer degree, slumped to the floor of the shower, trying not to just burst into tears. She could barely feel the water hitting her skin.  
  
Kento was sitting on the couch with a bag of pork rinds watching a late night talk show on TV when Cye returned home. "What happened to YOU?" Kento exclaimed, looking Cye up and down in shock. He was wet and looked like he had been laying in wet sand.   
"Long story," Cye replied with a sigh of sorrow. He dejectedly walked to the couch and flopped down next to Kento. "Does this have anything to do with Reia?" Kento asked, passing the bag to Cye, who waved it away with his hand.   
"What makes you say that?" Cye asked.   
"Well, she came running in like the hounds of hell her after and made a bee line for the shower. She looked kinda freaked. And her clothes were in a similar state."   
Cye took a deep breath, knowing he couldn't hide much from Kento, his best friend. He told him about his entire encounter with Reia at the lake shore.   
"Wow," Was the only thing Kento could come up with to say. "So one minute you guys were making out and the next she was runnin' away?!"   
"We were not making out," Cye answered indignantly. "But that is about what happened."   
Kento shrugged. "What can I say? Some chicks get weird sometimes." 


	5. Faces of the Future

The next morning was an exceedingly awkward one. Reia made a point of avoiding both Cye and Rowen. Kayura was actually the only person she'd really talk to.   
"I did some more research last night," Kayura said at length. Everyone stopped eating and looked up. "I think the enemy we face may potentially be more dangerous than Talpa and the Dynasty... But this force will join with the Dynasty."   
"Double whammy," Kento groaned, smacking his forehead.   
"But there is a way to get extra firepower on our side," Kayura said. Now everyone's attention was riveted on her. "I'll need the Jewel of Life to pull it off... but I think I can bring the rest of the Ronin Warriors from Reia's time into the past, that is, the present." A ripple or mutters and speculation traveled throughout the group before everyone finally consented. Mia gave Lady Kayura the Jewel of Life.   
"Let's do this outside," She said, and the whole group went outdoors.   
"Dao Chu!" Kayura cried, raising her hands in the air. The Armor of Loyalty appeared on her body and the Ancient Staff appeared in her hand. She told the others to transform, and everyone did. Soon ten armored samurai stood on the lawn: The five Ronin Warriors, Lady Kayura, the Warlords, and Reia. Kayura grabbed Reia's hand. "Reia's brain patterns will be needed to guide them here," She said. She placed the Jewel of Life around her neck, and then instructed Reia to take Ryo's hand.   
"Why?" Reia asked as she and Ryo looked at each other nervously.   
"His brain patterns will be needed, too... I'm going to bring Wildfire first."   
So they formed a circle. Reia gripped Ryo and Lady Kayura's hands, while Kayura held the Ancient Staff in her other hand. She chanted some strange chants and held the staff high. It began to glow and the wind picked up. The Jewel of Life began to spin on it's cord.   
A large silvery blue ring appeared in the air, about ten feet from the ground. The wind was blowing at near gale force as a figure slowly floated into view. An unconscious boy wearing the red sub armor or Wildfire. His spiky red hair was blown in every direction by the wind.   
Kayura sighed and dropped the staff, and the boy dropped as well.   
"Kasukio!" Reia cried, holding her hand out. A blue bubble caught him and prevented him from just smashing into the ground.   
"I must rest for a few minutes before bringing the next one back. Reia, when he wakes up, you'll have to keep him from panicking," Kayura groaned as Sehkmet and Dais helped her to the porch to sit down. The entire group had formed an awed circled around the limp person. Yulie was hiding behind Mia, only peeking from behind her waist.   
"Kasukio... Kasu... wake up," Reia whispered, smacking him lightly on the face. "Hey!" She cried.   
Slowly his lids opened to reveal forest green eyes. "Reia?!" He exclaimed, sitting up. "Who are these people?! We've been looking for you for weeks! Lys is totally freaked out, she thinks you're dead! Things have gotten really bad... This wizard named.. um... Arcane, I think, recently appeared. Apparently he defeated Talpa or something... but he is ten times worse than Talpa ever was, I swear! Junichi nearly got killed in a battle last week, and Xanthe almost lost it!" His eyes moved around nervously, coming to rest on Ryo and Rowen, the latter supporting the former.   
"Wh- WHAT THE HELL?!" He cried, staring at them in shock. "Reia, he- he looks just like you... and they're wearing OUR armors!"   
"Calm down, Kasukio, please!" Reia cried, holding him down. "Kasukio! These are the Ronin Warriors!"   
"What are you talking about?! WE'RE the Ronin Warriors!" Kasukio shouted, struggling against Reia's grip on his arms.   
"No... in the 21st Century we're Ronin Warriors... but we're in the 20th Century now!" She shouted.   
"Y-You mean?..." He stammered, his face going white.   
"Yes..." She said. "We're in the past... we're going to team up with them and hopefully squash the Dynasty once and for all."   
"What about Arcane?" Kasukio asked, looking around nervously. Thankfully he hadn't noticed the Warlords yet.   
"Reia," Sage said, coming up behind her. "Kayura's ready for the next transport."   
"Kayura? Your mom?" Kasukio asked, his tone implying he didn't understand.   
"Yes, look, just sit here quietly until we finish bringing the others back." Reia said gently. She saw his face blanch in horror at the sight of the Warlords. "I'll explain later," She said. "They won't hurt you, I promise." Reia could feel her insides churning herself. Although Kayura and the Ronin Warriors all assured her that the three men would not hurt her, she was still reluctant to trust them.   
Sage smiled sweetly at Reia and took her hand before Kayura was even halfway across the yard. Reia shifted uncomfortably and looked at the grass. Kayura soon joined them and repeated the same thing she had done previously. The same portal opened and, to the group's general shock, a girl who didn't look quite human dropped through. She was stunningly beautiful, with long hair of shining silver, with purple streaks in it. Her ears were slightly pointed.   
"Lys!" Kasukio cried, running to watch her as she fell through. He carried her back to the place where he had been seated and laid her head gently in his lap, talking to her in low tones and stroking her hair.   
"Explain everything to her when she wakes up," Reia whispered. "But let me see her is she wakes before the next transfer."   
"Hey, uh, Reia," Kento said, nudging her as she walked by him. "Is there, like... something going on between them?" He asked, gesturing to Kasukio and Lysithea.   
Reia nodded. "Yeah, they're like an item. Aren't they cute?" She couldn't stop herself from smiling.   
"Hey, you know," Kento said quietly, taking her by the arm and leading her out of reach of the others' ears. "Look, I don't know what went down between you and Cye last night, and it's probably none of my business or anything..." Kento paused at the sight of her flushed face. "But... whatever happened, I think he's really sorry about it. I know Cye better than anyone, and he's a really great guy..."   
"Reia!" Kayura called. "Kento! Come on, we're ready to transfer Hardrock back!"   
Reia and Kento trekked back to Kayura, and performed the ritual again. A handsome boy with golden brown hair appeared this time. Lys and Kasukio agreed to tend to him.   
"We'll bring Torrent back next," Kayura sighed. "So prepare yourselves." Reia glanced at Cye from across the yard. They made eye contact momentarily; both blushed and looked away.   
"How are you feeling?" Reia asked, kneeling by her three friends.   
"Xanthe is sort of out of it, but he'll be OK," Kasukio said as Lys looked Xanthe over.   
"R-Reia?" Xanthe stammered as his hazel eyes opened and he gave her a weak smile.   
"How are you holding up?" She asked, leaning over him.   
"Oh, I'm peachy," He replied before falling unconscious again.   
Reia walked over to where Cye and Kayura were waiting. A strange feeling washed over her when Cye took her hand; she hoped she wasn't blushing. Kayura performed the ritual and a boy with very long dark brown hair tied in a ponytail appeared. He has matching scars on each side of his face. Xanthe got up shakily and went to help him to where they were gathered.   
"This takes a lot out of me," Kayura sighed, almost falling over. Cayle caught her and held her up.   
"Don't worry, Kayura, at least you're done," He said almost gently. It was such a shock to Reia that she almost started laughing. Imagine, the man who nearly killed her several times, a man she regarded as a savage beast, supporting her mother and being... kind!   
"No, actually, I'm afraid she isn't done," Reia said shakily.   
"W-Where's Kawai?" The boy with the dark hair managed to rasp out.   
"They haven't brought her through, yet, Junichi," Xanthe explained. "We've time traveled... And Reia's here."   
"Who is Kawai?" Sehkmet asked.   
"A sixth Ronin Warrior," Reia said. "My mother created the armor using a small sample from each one."   
"So we all need to get in on this to bring her here?" Rowen asked. He had remained silent until now.   
"Yes. Everyone, form a circle," Kayura murmured. "You can sit this one out, Reia," She said, placing a caring hand on her daughter's shoulder. "You are tired, and I think we can bring her back without you."   
"Are you sure?" Reia asked, eyeing Kayura uncertainly.   
Kayura nodded. "Hai. Go sit with your friends."   
Reia nodded gratefully as the Armor of Strata burst off of her into the pink cherry blossoms before fading away completely, leaving her in her sub armor. She went over to where her now found comrades were.   
"My God, Reia, I'm so glad you're safe!" Lysithea exclaimed, hugging her. "So Kasukio told you about Arcane?" Reia nodded.   
"It makes me wonder... if the Warlords are on the same side as the Ronin Warriors now, why do we fight them in the future?" Xanthe said to no one in particular as he watched the eight samurai and the armored Lady Kayura prepare to transmit Kawai into the past.   
"Is... is that your mother, Reia?" Junichi asked dazedly. He was not still 100% recovered from his time travel. She nodded. "Can you believe it? I mean, my mother... wearing one of the nine armors? I've never laid eyes on the Armor of Loyalty before, and yet, there it is on my own mother!"   
"Something's happening!" Lys exclaimed, pointing.   
The same silver ring appeared in the air, indicating a portal was opening. The light was brighter, and the ring seemed to sparkle more. A foot appeared through the gateway... a foot clad in midnight blue armor. Soon another foot came through, followed by legs with magenta armor, then a purple waist guard with pouches on either side of the hips, then the upper body appeared, which was in magenta and blue chest guard, the armor on the arms was deep purple. The armor had a high neck... and then the face of the bearer came into view. A young woman, with clear, pale skin, and wavy, shoulder length reddish brown hair. She landed softly on the ground, standing up right.   
As the wind died down her hair settled back into place. All males present were somewhat taken aback by her beauty, even Kasukio, Xanthe, and Junichi, who saw her on a regular basis, and Kasukio saw her nearly everyday of his life, as she was his cousin, and they lived in the same house. Junichi's heart fluttered a bit at the sight of Kawai, it always did. A flirtatious grin spread across Sage's face. Her clear, silver-ice blue eyes opened widely, as she was momentarily unsure of her surroundings.   
"Hello, beautiful warrior," Sage said poetically, stepping forward. He stooped and reached for her hand to kiss it. Before he knew it he was on his back, a knee pressed into his chest and a sai blade at his throat.   
"Who are you?!" The girl demanded. Her voice was as clear and pretty as her face. "Where is Lysithea, the rightful bearer of the Armor of Halo?!"   
"Kawai!" Reia shouted, running to them. "Stop, I can explain!"   
"Reia?!" The girl gasped. She took her knee off of Sage's chest but kept the blade at his throat. "What is going on?" Reia explained everything to her: the time traveling, the deal with Rowen, the Warlords, etc.   
"So... so he is technically a rightful Ronin Warrior?" She asked, glancing down at a now very frustrated and embarrassed Sage of Halo.   
"Yes!" He gasped, but quieted as the pressure of the blade on his neck increased ever so slightly.   
"Yes!" Reia exclaimed. Kawai looked at Sage bitterly for a minute, then almost reluctantly released him.   
She smiled apologetically and offered a hand to help him up.   
"I am Kawai Mei-Lim, Ronin Warrior of Love," She said, nodding at everyone. The armor faded into a purple and silver sub armor. She looked squarely at Sage. "Sorry about that... in the future, introduce yourself before trying to act the Romeo." The others had a little laugh at this, but a look from Sage shushed them.   
Suddenly Reia noticed that Cayle was cradling a now unconscious Kayura in his arms.   
"Mom!" Reia cried, running to them.   
"That last one was too much for her," Dais said. "She collapsed as soon as Kawai materialized."   
"Mia-Chan, is it all right if I put her in a bed?" Cayle asked, picking Kayura up.   
"Sure, I'll help you," Mia said. "You come with me, Yulie," She said, tugging at the child's arm.   
"Aww, but it was just startin' to get interesting, Mia," Yulie whined. He yawned suddenly.   
"Someone else needs a nap, too," Mia laughed. "You can hang around later." Mia and Cayle headed back towards the house, with Yulie and Kayura in tow.   
The Ronin Warriors looked at each other. Present and future, face to face. As they made eye contact, the kanji of Virtue began to glow on both Ryo's and Kasukio's foreheads. When Sage and Lysithea stood face to face, a chain reaction from Ryo and Kasukio began. The kanji of Wisdom burned brightly on both of their foreheads. Then the kanji Trust lit up on Cye's and Junichi's foreheads. Reia looked over at Rowen to see his Life kanji burning, and she could feel hers, too. "Justice" lit up bright and true for Xanthe and Kento. The kanji of "Love" glowed purple on Kawai's forehead, while Serenity shone on Dais's and Piety glowed on Sehkmet's. Then every kanji slowly faded. "Maybe we should go into the house and talk," Ryo said as his sub armor faded into his street clothes.   
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Kasukio said. "We have... a lot to discuss." His sub armor faded into a baggy pair of blue jeans with a white tee shirt that said "Akio High Track Team" on the back and Nike running shoes. Lysithea's sub armor became a short, forest green skirt with a white blouse with black sandals. Xanthe was wearing black slacks and a yellow Polo shirt and relatively dressy black shoes. Junichi had on plain black sneakers and a faded pair of jeans with holes in each knee, with a blue tank top and black leather jacket. Kawai had on a school uniform: A gray jacket with a pleated gray skirt that fell to just above her knees, and a white scarf around her neck and another one in the breast pocket oh her jacket. Reia had on the same jeans and black tank top she had on the day she met the Ronin Warriors of the 20th Century, only they were cleaner than they had been before.   
When they got back to Mia's house, everyone settled somewhere in the living room. Mia and Cye went into the kitchen and prepared a bunch of iced tea. It was going to be a long afternoon. 


	6. Getting to Know You... Sorta

"I guess, we should start with introductions and stuff," Ryo said uncertainly after the tea was served and everyone was seated.   
"You guys go first," Kasukio said, so they did. Each Ronin Warrior introduced himself, told them their ages, hobbies, and which armor they wore.   
"So," Ryo said when they were done. "You guys tell us about yourselves. If we're going to fight with you we need to know you, right?"   
They all looked at each other uncertainty, no one wanting to go first. Lysithea put her hand over Kasukio's and smiled at him.   
"Oh, all right," He snorted. "I'm Kasukio Ha'To, I'm 19, and I wear the Armor of Wildfire. My hobbies are none of your bee's wax." Lysithea elbowed him in the ribs and he coughed. "All right, I run track and take pictures for fun."   
"See, that wasn't so bad," Lysithea said with a smile. "I'm Lysithea Tai of the Halo, by the way, but you all can call me Lys. I'm 17 and I suppose I should explain why I have pointy ears, silver and purple hair and copper eyes, huh?"   
"That'd be nice," Kento chimed in.   
She took a deep breath. "I never knew my mother, you see. She was from the Fantasy Realm, and she was a Fairy Princess. She was the only one to escape when Talpa attacked their land," Her voice choked, "She was lucky enough to meet a good, open minded man, my father, on Earth... she died giving birth to me..." She sniffled and covered her eyes with her hand. Kasukio put an arm around her.   
"You don't have to go on if you don't want to," Mia said softly.   
"No, it's OK," Lys said, sniffling again. "Not that there's much left to tell. I like school and I love to write."   
Almost everyone's gaze shifted to Xanthe. "What?" He exclaimed. He was sitting next to Junichi on the floor.   
"What about you?" Sage asked, staring at him.   
He stood up and straightened his collar, then cleared his throat and smoothed his hair back. A collective groan came from Kasukio, Lys, Reia, Junichi, and Kawai.   
"What was that all about?" Dais asked, giving them a weird look.   
"Xanthe always does this before he launches off into his acting phase," Junichi snorted in a voice that was loud enough only to be heard, no more loud than necessary.   
"Hey, you, all of you, have respect for an artist," Xanthe said with a crooked grin. "I am Xanthe Saotore. I was born 19 years ago on a dark and stormy night-"   
"You fool!" Sehkmet finally burst out. "We don't have time for theatrics!"   
Xanthe's face turned bright red and he clenched his fists. "You trying to start something, Sehkmet? I've kicked your butt in the future and I'll do it again!"   
"I'll teach you a lesson, you insolent whelp!" Sehkmet snarled.   
"Let's go!" Xanthe yelled, falling into a fighting stance.   
"No!" Reia shouted, jumping between them. "We don't have time for this!" Junichi jumped up to grab Xanthe's arms and Cayle grabbed Sehkmet.   
"Look, let's just finish up learning about these guys, all right?" Ryo said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Now, um, Xanthe, was it?"   
Xanthe took a long glare at Sehkmet before finishing. "Obviously, I am an actor... I'm also a scientist. Want a bomb built, I'm your man."   
"You dork," Junichi snorted. "Since when did you build bombs?"   
"And you are?" Mia asked, staring at Junichi.   
"Fed up with this session of Day Camp," Junichi replied sarcastically.   
"Hey," Xanthe mumbled, elbowing him.   
"This is so f***ing stupid," He growled under his breath so no one but Xanthe heard him. "I'm 17, my name is Junichi Furyu, Warrior of Trust. That's all you need to know."   
"Come on, tell them about-" Xanthe stopped when Junichi gave him a look to crush diamonds.   
"That's all they need to know," Junichi said with gritted teeth.   
The whole group was a little taken aback by Junichi. So far he had presented himself to be a moody, unhappy person. His purple eyes took in everything, scrutinized every detail, however. He would always make eye contact when he spoke, but almost never spoke first. And there was the scars on his face that raised some questions in the minds of all but a Xanthe.   
"How about you?" Sage asked with a smile, looking at Kawai. He apparently had forgiven her for flipping him earlier.   
"You already know my name and that I am the Warrior of Love, I wear the Armor of Eros," She said softly.   
"You have such a pretty voice... I'll bet you're a singer," Sage said with a coy grin. Ryo, Kento, Cye, and Rowen all rolled their eyes.   
"That's right," She replied. "I don't think there's much point in elaborating any further, do you?"   
"Now," Ryo said, shifting his gaze back to Kasukio. "Tell us about this Arcane person."  
  
All the Nether Spirits trembled in fear as the man in the scarlet robe floated by them, carrying an intricately woven staff with a figure of a gargoyle on the top.   
"How are you, Talpa?" He asked with a somewhat smug tone.   
"That's Lord Talpa to you, wizard," Talpa snorted.   
"That's Lord Arcane to you!" Arcane snapped. "You should be dead, you know. If it weren't for me you would not exist. It was I that captured your spirit when the Ronin Warriors killed you!"   
"And now I suffer the humiliation of eternal captivity on my own throne!" Talpa roared. "You did not help me, Wizard, you mock me!"   
"Indeed I do, Lord Talpa." Arcane laughed. There were three bubbles around him and the Dark Warlords Cayle, Sehkmet, and Dais appeared.   
"How did you?..." Talpa trailed off.   
"My bodyguards from the future," Arcane chuckled. "Oh, they're not the real men... just clones. They work for you in the future... at least they used to. I had a talk with them, and apparently they aren't happy working for you."   
"Arcane..." Talpa growled.   
"Good bye, Lord Talpa. Can't say I'm going to miss you." Arcane waved his hand and the five chains around Talpa snapped. Talpa shrieked as his body began to crack, and then, he was gone.   
"And now," Arcane chuckled, walking to Talpa's throne and sitting on it. "A new Dynasty begins. I suppose I best get to work creating some Warlords... since those blasted Ronin Warriors have teamed up with the Dynasty traitors, I need new men." Already the clones of the three Warlord clones were fading away. "Perhaps I should have made a more permanent spell," He said. "I'll always make more if I miss them, I suppose."   
  
"...We don't really know much about him," Kasukio said. "Just that he's some kind of wizard... and he's powerful to boot."   
"He must gain control of you three somehow," Kawai chimed in, looking at Dais, Cayle, and Sekhmet. "Otherwise we wouldn't be fighting you in the future."   
"Isn't your future an inevitable one?" Rowen snorted. "I mean, how do we know this whole thing, just you all being here, won't do something to totally screw up the space/time continuum?"   
"We don't," Lysithea replied.   
"But if you all lived in our time," Reia said softly, "You'd want to change it, too."   
"There's no such thing as Law and Order where we come from," Junichi said, his voice taking on a darkly serious tone.   
"You're being melodramatic," Xanthe whispered.   
"The hell I am!" Junichi shot back.   
"Xanthe, you have to admit things are bad for us... even you," Kawai said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Junichi bristled inwardly, Xanthe looked at Reia, who was staring at the carpet.   
"In any case... we're going to be here awhile, whether you all like it or not," Kasukio said rather bluntly. "We will inevitably have to fight Arcane... and after that, we'll either find a way home, or spend the rest of our lives here."   
"Provided we survive a fight with Arcane," Sage pointed out.   
"Well... being optimistic never hurt anyone," Lys said with a smile in Sage's direction.   
"When they get overconfident it does," Junichi replied.   
There was a long silence then. Mia looked out the window to see the sky beginning to turn pink.   
"Of my gosh," She exclaimed. "Look at the time! I'd better prepare guest rooms... um, I'll have to do some doubling up, I think," She said, looking around and counting with her eyes.   
"We won't be staying," Sekhmet said, standing.   
"Why not?" Mia asked, somewhat surprised.   
"From what they tell us, Arcane will come after us," Cayle said, standing as well. "We endanger the rest of you by being here."   
"But we can't risk them actually capturing you!" Ryo said.   
Dais shook his head. "We are quite capable of taking care of ourselves... but we think Kayura should stay here," He said, looking towards the stairs.   
"She's formidable herself," Rowen said, not quite catching Dais's drift.   
"I know," The warlord answered, "But she would probably opt to stay here anyway." His one eye turned towards Reia.   
"Er... will you at least stay for dinner?" Cye asked, getting up and heading for the kitchen.   
Sekhmet shook his head. "We should head back to the Nether Realm as soon as possible anyway."   
There was a bright flash of light, a brief stirring of wind, and the three men were gone.   
"Can't they learn to use a door?" Rowen muttered under his breath.  
  
That night, Lys, Reia, and Kawai were huddled on one bed in the guest room Mia had prepared for them, talking about everything from the seriousness of the situation at hand to the normal things teenage girls talk about.   
"How about those 20th Century Ronins, huh?" Lysithea giggled. "You spent a few days alone here with them, Reia, my God, you lucky chick!"   
"Lys!" Kawai gasped, staring at her in shock. "You're going out with Kasu!"   
Lys smirked. "I know a cute guy when I see one, Kawai. And were those sparks I saw between you and Halo?"   
"Certainly not," Kawai exclaimed in shock. "I've never met a guy so arrogant!"   
"Sage is not arrogant," Reia spoke up. "He just enjoys flirting."   
Lys's attention turned from Kawai to Reia. "Ahhh... So you and Sage...?"   
"No!" Reia shouted. "He did hit on me, like as soon as we met, but..." She trailed off.   
"Ya' gotta admit he is FINE!" Kawai quipped, clicking her tongue in approval.   
"I know," Reia said. "But he... I don't know, he's not my type, I guess."   
"You have a type?" Lys said sarcastically. "Reia, I love you like a sister and all, but you don't get around much with the guys."   
"You know who else is cute?" Kawai interrupted before an argument could begin. "That one guy, the quiet one... Torrent, I think?... That accent is to die for!"   
"Cye?" Reia exclaimed, head snapping upwards.   
"Stay away from him, Kawai, Reia's staked him out," Lys giggled, punching Reia in the arm. "You should have seen the way she blushed when he held her hand, you know, when they were getting ready to bring Junichi back from the future." Lys grinned wickedly at the sight of Reia's red cheeks. "HE was blushing kinda pink, too."   
"Hold your tongue, Halo," Reia snapped, imitating Cayle's voice and hitting her friend with a pillow.   
~ It's nice to know that even in dire situations like our current one... we're still just teenagers at heart, ~ Kawai thought happily as she joined the pillow fight.  
  
"So what do you think of the 20th Century?" Xanthe asked as Junichi flopped down onto his bed.   
"Eh," Junichi snorted. "It's there."   
"What is your problem?!" Xanthe snapped as he opened a window. "You've been a grouchy little S.O.B. ever since we got here!"   
"I'm always a grouchy little S.O.B.," Junichi replied with a crooked grin.   
"See? There's the little foster brother I live with!" Xanthe laughed.   
"Shut up," Junichi grumbled, pulling his hair out of it's ponytail and then retying it.   
"Seriously, what's eatin' ya?" Xanthe asked.   
"Nothing," Junichi insisted.   
"Don't 'nothing' me, Junichi, every time something's on your mind you play with your hair like that, just like a girl."   
Junichi only glared at him.   
"A buff girl, but hey. Come on, talk to me, I thought we were buds!" No response. "Well, fine, if you won't tell me, then quit moping at least. You're starting to depress me." Xanthe switched the light off and settled down onto the futon that was on the floor next to Junichi's bed.  
  
White Blaze was unsure of which bed to lay next to. The newcomer, Kasukio, was sleeping in the bed across the room from Ryo's which usually was unoccupied. Normally he would guard Ryo's bedside, but for some reason he felt like this other kid needed his attention, too. After much deliberation, the tiger finally heaved himself onto the floor by the door, between the two beds. Mia had put a new plush rug there anyway.   
Kasukio waited until there were no sounds coming out of the darkness but Ryo and White Blaze breathing. Creeping quietly out of bed, he made his way out of the room and down the hall. Eyeing the several closed doors, it took him a moment to remember which one the girls were behind. Choosing a door, he slowly opened it. Thankfully, it didn't creak.   
Poking his head into the dark room, he could barely make out the three sleeping figures. Two girls were in beds, a third one a futon on the floor. Stepping over the girl on the floor, he leaned close to look at the girl in the first bed. Kawai. He stepped around and found Lys in the second bed.   
"Lys," He whispered in her ear, "Wake up..."   
"Dad, I don't feel good," Lys groaned.   
"Wake up!" Kasukio hissed, louder.   
"What are you doing here?!" She exclaimed in shock when she realized where she was.   
"I couldn't sleep," Kasukio replied with a shrug.   
"Sssshhhh... you'll wake Rei-Chan and Kawai," Lys whispered, illustrating caution by placing a finger on his lips.   
"Let's get out of here then," He said, tugging on her hand.   
"Where are we going?" Lys whispered as the pair tip toed down the dark hallway.   
"Anywhere you want," Kasukio replied with a crooked grin.   
They made it about as far as the living room couch. Kasukio casually sat down and Lys huddled between the arm of the couch and him. They sat there for a long time in sleepy silence before Lys finally posed the question:   
"Kasu... are you afraid?" She asked, her voice trembling in the darkness.   
"Me.... afraid?!..." He responded, sounding unsure of himself.  
  
Rowen laid awake in the darkness, his mind twirling at the speed of the shock wave created by his sure kill. For once, he was faced with a dilemma simple logic or pure skill would get him out of. It had been a very long time since he had to consider bringing in his heart or the emotions of others. A few years was a long time for that sort of thing, especially when you'd been locked in constant battles recently.   
Rowen was known and favored for his strategic abilities, and intelligence in battle. But this time he wasn't battling a Dynasty foe... it was a sixteen year old girl who had turned his world upside down and inside out. Frankly, he was completely stumped as to the solution of the problem. 


	7. The Dark Ronin Warriors

Reia woke up early; the sky was just beginning to turn pink with the dawning sun. But when she looked around the room, she saw she wasn't first up; Lys was already gone from her bed.   
She shivered as she pulled on her clothing. That dream she had had last night... do vivid, so terrifying...   
She closed the door to the room behind her, leaving Kawai to sleep a little longer. She literally ran into Cye as she headed into the bathroom and he was coming out at the same time.   
"I'm sorry," She stammered, stepping backwards, her cheeks turning pink.   
"It was my fault," He assured her.   
"I... I didn't really need to go anyway," Reia muttered, spinning on her heels and walking swiftly down the hall towards the stairs.   
"Reia... Reia, wait," Cye hissed, jogging after her. They were on the stairs by the time he caught her. "Reia, talk to me!"   
"I don't want to!" She snapped. Cye appeared taken aback.   
"Is that true?" He asked, his sea blue eyes boring holes into her sky blue ones.   
"Please, Cye..." She almost pleaded with him. "I have so much on my mind..."   
"When you're ready," Cye said with a nod. "I have to get started on breakfast," He added, nudging past her and heading down the stairs. She had not missed the somewhat icy tone his voice had taken.   
Reia stood on the stairs a moment before turning to go back down. Xanthe's voice stopped her.   
"What was that all about, Reia?" He asked. He was leaning against a nearby door frame, his light brown hair still in a sleepy disarray, and his hazel eyes still cloudy with weariness.   
"Nothing, Xanthe," She said, turning to walk away.   
"Why do you lie to me, Reia?" He asked. "I thought we were friends," He added with a smile at the site of Reia's shocked face.   
"We are," She said, squeezing his hand. "I just don't feel like talking with anyone about this right now."   
  
"All right, I've got it. Perfect henchmen!" Arcane floated across Talpa's former throne room, now his throne room, and picked up a thick book. The Ronin Warriors' powers lie in ten great virtues of humanity: Life Force, Justice, Wisdom, Trust, Loyalty, Piety, Serenity, Obedience, Love, and Absolute Virtue... What I need is ten warriors that are the opposite of these things. Arcane laughed at his own genius. "Those Ronin Warriors won't know what hit them!" He shouted.   
I shall create my Dark Ronin Warriors, of Death, Injustice, Ignorance, Suspicion, Treachery, Indifference, Chaos, Rebellion, Hate, and Absolute Sin... But who shall become my Dark Ronins? Certainly none of these ordinary soldiers will do... I will have to go to the arena in the Nether realm... perhaps there will be gladiators worthy of the job there.   
  
Junichi breathed in the serenity of Jewel Lake as he walked along the shore, unknowingly on the same route Cye and Reia had taken a few nights earlier.   
"I could stay here forever," He said to himself. Looking out on the perfect blue water, sparkling with the morning sun, his tranquil moment was suddenly seized with painful memories. It had been at a lake as pure and perfect that had it's perfection stained by violence and terror eight years ago, a terror that followed him for most of those eight years.   
He shuddered involuntarily and pulled his jacket tighter around him.   
"Come on, Junichi!" Kinaka called to him from the water.   
"No!" Junichi shouted. "It's cold!"   
"Be a baby then," His twin sister sniffed, making a face at him. "You can just stay here on shore with mama and baby Akio!"   
"I'm not a baby!" He shouted, plunging into the water after his sister.   
"Don't you fight!" Their father shouted.   
At some point his sister left the lake for some more sun screen, leaving him in the water alone. Looking around, Junichi saw they were the only family there... odd... and it was silent, no birds, only the water lapping. He couldn't even hear his parents, or the baby fussing...   
Then Junichi turned and found they weren't even there.   
"Mama?" He called, looking around. "Mama? Where are you? Papa?!" He was beginning to become afraid. A dark mist settled over the lake.   
"Mama!" He screamed, scrambling out of the water. He heard his sister, Kinaka, scream.   
A tall, dark man had picked her up and was carrying her down the beach.   
"Kinaka!" He shouted, throwing a rock at the bad man. "Put my sister down!"   
He heard his mother scream and saw many more dark men. He saw a long black sword raised and brought down on his father, who crumpled like a doll, his blood staining the perfect white sand black. His mother screamed and clutched his baby brother to her chest, crying for his father and also calling to Junichi and Kinaka. Four arrows pierced his mother, and when her cried of agony died, so did his brother's.   
His throat was hoarse from screaming and crying. He wanted to run, but he also wanted to save his sister.   
Kinaka kicked the man holding her and he dropped her in surprise. She screamed and started to run towards Junichi's outstretched hand, but from nowhere a sickle blade sped into the air. He heard a sickening slash as his sister fell to the ground, screaming and covering her face. She had been so close that her blood splashed on him... where it hit him it burned.   
The soldiers rushed at him next. Screaming more, he tried to run... a sickle blade whirled in front of him and he felt severe pain on his face, he fell to the ground, blood mixing with his tears.   
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a white tiger leapt from the bushes and landed in front of him, serving to terrify him even more. But the soldiers stepped back from the beast. A monk stepped from the bushes. Removing his hat, his long red hair flew in the breeze.   
"Be gone, demons," The man said. "The Ronin Warrior of Trust will not be yours. He has the blessing of the ancients to grow strong and restore peace to this order, like warriors before him!" The soldiers vanished, so did the man and the tiger.   
"Mother... Father..." Junichi whispered. A tear slid down one of the scars on his face. The Dynasty certainly had many things to pay for... a trembling hand went up to his face to touch the scar and he brought it down in an angry fist. They took away his family, and his dignity... he was damn lucky he managed to retain his sanity, but he still had to go to counseling. The newspapers had said wild dogs had attacked them, but he knew it was the blades of swords that killed his childhood that day and not the fangs of dogs.   
"Junichi! Sage says there's a dojo we can go practice at, you coming?" Xanthe called.   
"Um... sure, yeah, coming!" Junichi shouted as he looked at the water one more time before turning back to return to the house.   
  
Arcane materialized at the gladiator's arena, where all being of the Nether Realm went to prove their strength a superiority.   
At the moment, a tall, muscular man was battling a large lizard like creature. He was very bulky, and his long dark blonde hair was tied in a long braid that fell down his back. He was dressed in a jet black suit of ordinary armor and wielded two very long, curved blades. Smoky gray eyes blazing with power.   
The lizard shrieked and tried to snap at him, only to have the two blades slice his head off.   
He has skills, Arcane thought. He stood and pointed at the man. "You!"   
The man looked up at Arcane in shock, unaware that he had been watched.   
"I don't suppose you'd be interested in power and immortality?" Arcane asked. He was pleased at the dark smile that crept along the man's face.   
"Swear allegiance to me, and become one of my Dark Ronin Warriors! We shall become the rulers of the light world and the universe!"   
The man bowed and put his fist over his heart.   
"Very good. What is your name, warrior?" He asked.   
"Balin, My Lord," The man responded.   
"Come to me, Balin, embrace the darkness and become my Dark Ronin Warrior of Sin!"   
Arcane held his hands up and a dark mist encircled the coliseum. Balin knelt at his feet and when the mist cleared his ordinary black armor had become a very good suit of still black armor, and he had finer swords.   
Over that afternoon at the coliseum, Balin helped Arcane pick out some of the other Dark Ronins.   
A large muscle bound man, even larger than Balin called Trox was selected to be the Dark Ronin of Ignorance. A female with long red hair who seemed very adept with throwing knives was selected to become the Dark Ronin of Injustice. She was Osa Terapir, a renowned expert mercenary. Arcane convinced her that swearing loyalty to him would be a very profitable venture. She reproved her expertise with knives when Trox went so far as to imply a woman couldn't do the job as well as a man and she let a knife come within a hair's width of his face, adding curtly that she doesn't miss unless it was at will.   
There was a warrior called Fiian who was very good with a sword, and then they watched as he swindled another warrior out of a purse full of coins. Arcane thought he would make a perfect Dark Ronin of Treachery, although Balin, Trox, and Osa all prickled inwardly at Fiian. But the red headed man seemed perfectly willing to cooperate with Arcane, and even more willing to stand beside Osa.   
A woman called Celtia with short blonde hair took down four opponents at the same time with a whip and destroyed several targets with devastating magical attacks. She was a mage of the first degree, and even though she could only use a whip and no other weapon, her magic was more than enough to convince Arcane that he had found his Dark Ronin of Chaos.   
There was a man who had his dark purple hair pulled back in a ponytail and sported a pair of glasses on his face, sitting off to the side, inspecting a rack of swords.   
"Who is that?" Arcane asked.   
"That's Jiquar, My Lord," Balin answered. "He knows more about weapons than any weapons master."   
"And how is he with a blade?" Arcane asked.   
"Adequate, Sir," Osa spoke up, "But I hear he is the one of the best weaponless fighter in the Nether World."   
"Your sword," Arcane said, holding his hand out to Fiian, who blanched then handed it over.   
Arcane silently hurled it at the man with the glasses. All five of the Dark Ronins held their breath. Just as it was about to him, he whirled around and knocked the sword to the ground, a purple shield glowing on his arm.   
"He knows chi magic," Celtia breathed. "Very impressive."   
"You there!" Arcane shouted. "I could use a man like you."   
Jiquar looked up, slightly annoyed. "Did you throw that?" He asked, pointing at Fiian's sword. He picked it up and hurled it back with equal strength as Arcane's throw. Fiian caught it and began coddling the blade, scrubbing the dirst off it with his tunic.   
"How about it? Power, riches, immortality, women, they can all be yours," Arcane said as a Dark mist surrounded them.   
"Someone has to make sure you keep your weapons in a good condition," Jiquar said as his eyes came to rest on Osa and Celtia.   
"You will be a perfect Dark Ronin of Indifference," Arcane chuckled as Jiquar fitted spiky gauntlets onto his arms and his eyes flashed purple.   
"Could I make a recommendation, Master?" Trox asked. Arcane nodded. Trox pointed a thick, meaty hand at a man with long brown hair who was doing some fancy shots with a long bow. Watching him, Arcane discovered this man was blind, his eyes were one uniform gray. And he never missed a shot. He wondered why.   
"I see the target through the eyes of the people around me," The man called.   
"Mind magic," Jiquar grumbled, Celtia gasped.   
"And yes, I am perfectly willing to work for you," The blind man added. Arcane prickled a little at his callousness.   
"What is your name?" Arcane asked.   
"Yormo, at your service," He replied, bowing. "Or should I say, Yormo, Dark Ronin of Rebellion?"   
"It would be wise on your part not to read my mind again, Yormo. The only reason you are not twitching in agony right now is I let you inside," Arcane snarled menacingly. The other Ronins seemed more afraid than Yormo at this threat.   
Arcane and his Dark Ronins stayed at the coliseum the rest of the afternoon, but saw no other warriors worthy of becoming Dark Ronins. Sitting on his throne, he eyes the seven recruits bowing at his feet. He was still missing his Dark Ronins of Death, Suspicion, and Hate.   
The candles in the room flickered as a woman wearing a purple cape and hood entered the room.   
"Kaori," He said without turning around.   
"Father," She said, greeting him. She pulled back her hood and let her brown hair, which was tied up in two braided loops on either side of her head and fell in pig tails to her shoulder. "I want to help you with your cause."   
"Are you certain, Daughter?" Arcane asked, using the term loosely.   
She nodded, her violet eyes flashed behind the mask she wore over them. "I thirst to annihilate the Ronin Warriors," She hissed with a fervor that made the other Dark Ronins look up.   
"Well, then," Arcane chuckled. "You have that position you ask for, my dear. Join the ranks as my Dark Ronin of Suspicion!"   
Well, now he was missing only Death and Hate. And he had a very good idea who those two could be...   
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind that the room grew cold. Deathly cold in fact. The Dark Ronins all shuddered and hugged themselves desperately, iot felt as if the air was literally drawing the heat away from their bodies.   
"Persephone," Arcane grumbled. "Winter Witch. What can I do for you?"   
"I think the question is, My Lord, what can I do for you?" The witch responded, her raspy voice making the other warriors cringe. The blonde girl beside her said nothing.   
"What do you want?" Arcane asked.   
"Only to serve you," She said, "You are a powerful man, Arcane. I want to be on friendly terms with you when you take over the world."   
Arcane glared at Persephone. "Who is she?"   
The girl beside her appeared to be about 15, but Arcane sensed she was much older than that. Her feathery blonde hair fell over sparkling silver eyes and pointed ears.   
"I want to see the human race wiped from Earth, with you as the new ruler," The girl said, bowing low. "I am Jessira."   
"Very well," Arcane said with a nod. "You, Persephone, are my Dark Ronin of Death, and Balin's second in command!" Persephone smiled, Balin's jaw dropped open and Trox looked horrified. "Jessira, use your powers as Dark Ronin of Hate!"   
Arcane looked down on his ten Dark Ronins, very please with his recruits.   
"Osa, is it?" He said, looking down at the red headed woman.   
"Yes, Sir?" Osa asked, looking up.   
"I am sending you out-" He held up his hand to cut off protests. "Relay a message to those Ronin Warriors. Take Jiquar and Yormo. You can have a little fun with them if you wish, but don't hurt them too badly, only humiliate them."   
"Aye, M'lord," She said, bowing as the three vanished.   
  
At the Date Dojo, run by Sage's father, Sage, Kento, and Ryo were sparring with Lys, Xanthe, and Kasukio.   
Sage was surprised at how good Lys was with the sword. Even though they were using wooden practice swords, her skill was formidable. Ryo found the same to be true with Kasukio and two swords, and Kento with Xanthe and a staff.   
~ Why were we expecting the future Ronins to be soft? ~ Ryo asked himself. ~ Of course they'd have to be good to be Ronin Warriors... ~   
Junichi was leaning against the wall, watching the event while Cye retrieved practice spears from the back room. Just as they were about the begin, the lights in the room went out.   
"What the-" Ryo exclaimed. They looked around nervously.   
A chilling female laugh filled the air. "Greetings, Ronin Warriors..."   
There was a flash of light and a woman with long red hair appeared in the center of the room. She stood on one foot and held three knives in each hand. She had several other blades on her belt. She was wearing loose white clothing, but they could see black armor peeking at the shoulder line, midriff, and her legs. To her right a man with startlingly blank gray eyes and long brown hair, dressed in reddish orange armor and holding a long bow appeared at her left, and a man with dark purple hair tied in a ponytail and glasses at her side. He wore what appeared to be only high quality leather armor, but he had impressive looking spiked gauntlets on and his eyes seemed to be glowing oddly.   
"I am Jiquar, Lord Arcane's Dakr Ronin Warrior of Indifference," The man with the glasses introduced himself.   
"I am Yormo, Dark Ronin of Rebellion," Yormo said, firing an arrow that just barely missed Lys's head.   
"Why you...!" Kasukio snarled, readying to attack. Jiquar's eyes flashed an strange purple energy surrounded Kasukio. "I... I can't move!" He cried.   
"And I," the woman said, her green eyes flashing, "Am Osa, Dark Ronin of Injustice!" She threw a knife that landed in the wall just above Junichi's shoulder, so close it had pierced the leather of his jacket but it did not touch his skin.   
"We deliver a message," Osa laughed.   
"What would that be?" Ryo asked in a challenging manner.   
"Surrender, or die," Osa replied simply before throwing two knives at Ryo's head... 


	8. Rumble in the Dojo

"No!" Kasukio shouted, lunging to push Ryo out of the way. One of the knives missed and the other grazed the back of his neck.   
"Thanks, man," Ryo groaned, sitting up. "I owe you one."   
"Oww... I'm hit," Kasukio mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck, his hand came away bloody.   
Meanwhile, Osa was trembling with anger. Yormo seemed rather amused and Jiquar looked shocked.   
"Kasukio!" Lys cried, running to her fallen boyfriend.   
"Lys..." Kasukio mumbled as she fretted over him, "I'm OK..."   
"There's more where that came from, Ronin scum!" Osa snarled, pulling out another knife.   
"You... you bitch..." Lys hissed. "DAO CHI!!!" Lys's practice garment became her Halo sub armor as she drove her shoulder into Osa's stomach with a speed that surprised everyone in the room.   
"So you want to play hard ball?!" Osa grunted in pain, kicking Lys off of her. "Fine. Dark Ronins, TO ARMS!"   
Osa held a long knife in each hand. "POWER OF INJUSTICE!!!" She screamed as she slashed the air in front of her, the blades leaving a trail of black energy in their wake. Her white tunic shredded to reveal the skin tight body armor beneath. That armor dissolved as black cherry blossoms floated in the air. It then reformed on her body, but it was glowing slightly, and her white garments over the armor looked slightly grayer. The blades of her knives became red. The scarf in her hair turned black and became hard metal.   
Yormo arched his back and released an arrow into the air above him, shouting, "POWER OF REBELLION!!!" The arrow exploded into a shower of black blossoms and sparks rained over the blind Ronin. His orange armor became a rich maroon and gray, and his wooden long bow became obsidian.   
Jiquar initiated his transformation the way the other Ronin Warriors did, with arm and hand motions. "POWER OF INDIFFERENCE!!!" He screamed as a purple energy seemed to be absorbed into the leather armor he was wearing. His glasses shattered and became shards of purple glass that attatched themselves to his gauntlets. His eyes became bright purple, as if he had colored contacts in. A short sword appeared at his side, but he made no move to use it.   
"Fine, then, we can do that too, right guys?" Ryo shouted.   
"Yeah!" Kento shouted.   
"You got it!" Sage replied.   
"Let's do it, Ryo," Cye yelled.   
"Ronins?" Kasukio asked, looking at Lys, Xanthe, and Junichi.   
"GO!" The three responded in unison.   
"Ronin Warriors... TO ARMS!" Ryo and Kasukio shouted in unison, looking at each other in shock. "ARMOR OF WILDFIRE...DAO JIN!!!"   
"ARMOR OF HALO... DAO CHI!!!" Lys and Sage transformed together, like synchronized dancers.   
"ARMOR OF HARDROCK... DAO GI!!!" Kento and Xanthe called their armor together.   
"ARMOR OF TORRENT... DAO SHIN!!!" Junichi and Cye shouted and substituted their wooden practice spears for their Torrent tridents.   
"You guys might as well back off 'cause you're hopelessly outmatched," Kento said, pointing his spear at Osa.   
"And we hate to gang up on people," Said Xanthe.   
Osa cracked a smile and glared at Kento and Xanthe. "Ronins of Justice... prepare to die!" She said quietly. "BLADES OF INJUSTICE!!!" As Jiquar cast a force field around the other Ronins to keep them immobile, Osa leapt into the air, a brilliant red energy shining around her as she released a cloud of knives at them.   
"AUUGGHH!" The orange clad Ronins screamed in pain as they hit the ground, cut in multiple places.   
"Let that be a lesson to you, whelps," Osa sneered as the three Dark Ronins vanished.   
"Ah, Xanthe!" Junichi gasped as the force field released them.   
"Kento!" Cye cried.   
"It hurts," Xanthe groaned as his armor faded away to his torn street clothing.   
"Hold on, man, you'll be OK," Junichi said, putting Xanthe's head in his lap.   
"Hang on, Kento," Cye said. "Can you hear me?"   
"We gotta get them back to Mia's place!" Ryo exclaimed.   
"There's no time!" Kasukio whispered.   
"Lys," Junichi murmured, looking up at the silver haired girl. "Please... help him!"   
"J- Junichi... Lys," Xanthe croaked out, blood trickling down his lip.   
"KENTO!" Cye shouted when Kento sighed and his eyes closed.   
Not wasting another precious moment, Sage dashed to Kento and put his hands on either side of his head. A pale green aura surrounded him and his fallen comrade as he used his Halo powers to heal Kento, and Lys did the same for Xanthe. Suddenly the aura vanished; Sage groaned and collapsed forward onto Kento as Lys heaved a great sigh and dropped backwards. Kasukio jumped to catch her.   
"Are they gonna be OK?" Ryo asked.   
"Sage is exhausted, Kento's wounds were bad," Cye replied, sounding worried.   
"Man, where am I?" Kento groaned, sitting up. "The last thing I remember was that red head throwing knives at me... What happened to him?" He gasped when he saw Ryo supporting Sage.   
"He exhausted himself healing you.... Are you OK?" Cye asked.   
"Talk to me, Xanthe..." Junichi muttered, hitting Xanthe lightly on the face.   
"Stop hitting me or I'll throw you across the room," Xanthe muttered as his hazel eyes opened.   
"Thank God," Junichi muttered, closing his eyes.   
"Junichi... were you crying?" Xanthe asked, half in amusement and half in utter bewilderment.   
"Don't be a moron," Junichi gasped, turning away to wipe the tears from his eyes.   
"Did we save them?" Lys asked groggily.   
"You were great," Kasukio murmured, leaning forward to kiss her.   
"Ugh, someone make them stop," Xanthe groaned. "I just got better don't make me ill again!" Lys smiled shyly and Kasukio glared at him.   
"My dad is gonna have a fit when he sees what we did to the dojo," Sage groaned as he regained consciousness. There were scorch marks all over the walls, floors, and ceiling. "It was really rude of them to attack us here, they could have at least waited 'till we were outside."   
Junichi had tacitly separated himself from the group, silently disarming and turning his back on everything.   
"Junichi?" Xanthe asked, concern in his voice.   
"We should get back," He said, heading for the dojo exit.   
"I guess I'll be back here tomorrow to try and correct this damage before my parents get back from the States," Sage sighed as he locked the doors.   
"Hey, wait up!" Xanthe shouted, running to catch up to Junichi. They walked far ahead of the rest of them, heads down, talking quietly.   
"Hey, uh, Lys," Ryo whispered, nudging her elbow.   
"What is it, Ryo?" She said, her copper eyes staring into his soul.   
"Those two, they're awful close... are they, uh, I mean, well... just how close are they...?" Ryo asked nervously, not quite sure how to word his question. Lys stiffened when she figured out what Ryo was trying to ask.   
"Xanthe and Junichi are not lovers," She said bluntly. "I think it was rather rude of you to ask," She added. Her eyes seemed more of a dark orange now rather than a shining copper.   
"I didn't mean it- Ah," Ryo sighed, feeling it was better to let the issue drop than to let a debate start.   
"They're brothers," Lys blurted out.   
"Really?" Kento asked. "You wouldn't be able to tell..."   
"Not biological brothers," Kasukio explained. "Foster brothers. Xanthe's family took Junichi in and Xanthe says his parents are into the paperwork to officially adopt him."   
"I see," Cye breathed. "I had no idea..."   
"Xanthe is practically all Junichi has in this world," Lys said solemnly. "I mean, he has us, we're all his friends and we do anything we can to help him, but..." She trailed off. "I shouldn't talk about it."   
"So he's an orphan?" Ryo asked, the touch of sadness in his voice not escaping her.   
"Yeah," Kasukio said, shaking his head. "The Dynasty killed his family when he was nine."   
"Oh..." Ryo's eyes opened wide with shock.   
"Let's not talk about it anymore, please..." Lys groaned. Kasukio put his arm around her reassuringly and whispered something in her ear.   
Kento and Cye exchanged worried glances over Ryo, who was now deep in thought.   
  
Osa cursed as she took off her tunic and slowly peeled the black armor from her body, pulling it down to her waist. There was a large black and blue mark on her stomach, just below her breasts.   
~ That Halo bimbo really nailed me hard, ~ She thought. ~ It went right through my armor... ~   
She stared at her half nude body in the mirror, tenderly rubbing the bruise. ~ Mother always said I was too pretty to be a mercenary, much less an assassin, ~ Osa pulled her clothing off the rest of the way and sank into the bath she had prepared. She knew the other warriors all had a hand servant or two to do things like that for them, and in the male warriors' cases, they probably used the serving wenches for more than drawing baths.   
But she liked drawing her own bath, putting her own spices in the water. ~ There's nothing like the smell of ginger and rose petals to ease the mind, ~ She thought as she took to bindings out of her long red hair and shook it loose.   
"Ma'am?" One of Arcane's slaves appeared at the doorway to Osa's bathing chamber.   
~ What's her name again?... ~ Osa thought, and then decided it wasn't worth wondering about. "Yes?"   
"I bring you a new tunic," She explained, setting the white bundle on a chair. "Can I get you anything?"   
"No, that's fine," She said, waving her hand.   
She could hear ruckus laughter coming from a nearby room in the fortress. The other warriors were probably celebrating their trouncing of the Ronins.   
~ Not that they did anything to assist the cause. It was me that delivered the sure kill on the Hardrocks. ~   
She lifted herself out of the tub and rolled her hair into a large bun, tying her scarf over it. She put on an orange and blue kimono and went into the assembly room. Sure enough, she was greeted by a scene that reminded her of her days in the merc camps.   
~ Only these aren't my fellow mercenaries, my friends, ~ She thought bitterly.   
Several serving wenches were running around bringing drinks to the seated warriors. Jiquar was seated in a far corner, absently sipping at a goblet. Trox was bared to the waist in another far corner, a mug of beer in each hand and a serving girl on each arm, both in equal states of undress. Fiian was sitting on a bench by the fire, with a flask in one hand and Celtia in his lap, who was giggling and drinking from a large goblet, some potent looking black stuff Osa figured even a male merc wouldn't touch. ~ Well, I'm pretty sure one of their beds will remain cold tonight, and the other quite warm. ~ Yormo was no where in sight, neither was Kaori. Balin, Persephone, and Jessira were also missing.   
~ Odd birds, these other Dark Ronins, ~ She thought as she took a swig of the wine that a serving girl had handed her almost immediately.   
"They're drunk. How repulsive," Kaori's scornful voice came behind Osa. The masked brunette was looking at Fiian and Celtia.   
"They'll regret this tomorrow morning," Osa agreed, as she absently picked her teeth with a knife.   
  
Jiquar eyed Osa from across the room, but she seemed a tad blurry. Groaning and rubbing his eyes, he swallowed the last of his wine and tossed his goblet on the floor, leaving a small purple trail illustrating the path of the goblet on the fire hearth.   
~ She's sweet, ~ He thought, staring at the her while her back was turned to him, but not thinking about her personality so much as her figure. ~ Wish she didn't feel compelled to wear so many lairs... ~   
"Listen up, you scum," Balin's loud voice carried across the room. "Lord Arcane is very pleased with the way things went on the field expedition. Now he has another assignment for some of us. I need Yormo, Jiquar, Fiian and Celtia to report to my chambers at sun rise... apparently he wants you to retrieve a few traitors..."   
"Cayle..." Yormo muttered, eyes narrowing.   
"Sekhmet," Jiquar said to himself.   
"Hmm... Dais," Celtia chuckled to herself dreamily.   
"Lady Kayura, here I come," Fiian whispered, a grin spreading across his face as his slugged down the last of his wine.   
"Why can't we go now, Balin?" Jiquar shouted impatiently.   
"Because you're all too drunk to spell your own names, let alone beat the former warlords," Balin sneered. "Tomorrow morning. Sun rise."   
With that, the Ronin of Sin was gone.   
"It ain't fair," Trox grunted. "Blind boy and four eyes have already been on a mission."   
"Hold your tongue, pig!" Kaori snapped, reaching for her staff.   
"Who's gonna make me, baby?" Trox countered, standing and reaching for his staff.   
"Leave her out of this, Trox," Yormo hissed, grabbing his bow.   
"ENOUGH!" A raspy voice screeched as a wave of frigid air knocked the belligerent warriors over.   
"Kaori," Persephone cooed, helping her up. "Since you haven't been drinking, your father wants us to go on a little mission..."   
"Yes, I've been waiting to get out there," Kaori said.   
:: Can I count on seeing you when you return, luv? :: Kaori was momentarily startled by the voice in the back of her mind. It always did startle her.   
~ I'll come to your chambers if I'm not too tired, ~ She thought, knowing Yormo would pick her thoughts up. Although he wasn't looking at her, she knew the smile that appeared on his lips were for her.   
:: Good luck, luv, :: He called to her in her mind as she left with Persephone. 


	9. Confessions of True Feeling

The rest of the day had been a nervous one for the Ronins. Everyone was on edge all day, but there was no further sign of the Dark Ronins.   
"We'll get the dishes, Cye," Kawai said, reaching out to snatch a plate from him. "Right, guys?" She said, her eyes traveling over her friends.   
"I'll help Kawai," Junichi blurted out, standing up.   
"I'll help, too," Reia said, eager to have a task to fulfill.   
"Really, it's OK, I can handle it," Cye assured Kawai, trying to take the plate back.   
"Remove him," She said, pointing at Cye.   
"Come on, Cye," Kento said, grabbing the back of his shirt. "Live a little, you can't do the dishes all the time..."   
Casting a rueful glance back at the kitchen, Cye reluctantly left with Kento.   
"Come on, let's play some hoops," Kento said, opening a closet door and pulling out a basketball.   
  
From her position at the sink, Reia could see Cye and Kento at the basketball court that she vaguely remembered Sage and Ryo bragging about having built themselves. She knew she was staring, but she didn't care. Cye's every move caught her attention, every agile dodge from Kento's blocking, his graceful moves when he attempted a shot. Never mind that Kento was creaming him, it was fun to watch.   
"REIA!" Kawai's impatient voice jolted her out of her day dream.   
"What?" She asked in an annoyed tone of voice, glaring at Kawai.   
"You OK? You've been washing that fork for the last ten minutes," Kawai quipped. Pulling back a curtain, she looked out the window and saw Kento and Cye at the basketball court. A knowing smile spread across her face.   
"Junichi, luv, could you get Lys's sorry rear in here, please?" Kawai asked.   
"Huh?" Junichi stammered, trying not to seem to surprised that Kawai had spoken to him.   
"I need Lys's help. You're free," Kawai said with a smile as Junichi shuffled out of the kitchen. "That's a sweetie!" She called, waving at him.   
"I think he likes you," Reia said, glancing at Junichi's retreating form.   
"Junichi?" Kawai exclaimed in shock. "No way!"   
"I dunno," Reia said, looking down at the sink, although she wanted to look out the window.   
"He's one of those tough guy types," Kawai said, almost wistfully, "And you know, with his music and all, he has no time for girls..." Kawai paused. "Hey! You said that just so I'd forget about why I sent him out of the kitchen!"   
Lys appeared at the doorway, looking frustrated. "What is it, Kawai?" She snapped.   
"Come here, it's gossip time," Kawai said, grinning.   
"Oooh," Lys squealed, running to the sink.   
Reia couldn't help it, she was staring out the window again.   
"You like him, don'tcha?" Said Kawai.   
"What?" Reia exclaimed, dropping the plate she was holding with a large splash.   
"How much do you dig Cye?" Lys asked, her tone on the serious edge.   
"Totally," Reia sighed after a lengthy pause.   
"Yeah, a project!" Kawai said under her breath.   
"WHAT?" Reia squealed. Kawai only beamed.   
"No way!" Reia protested.   
"Second to Lys, you are the shyest girl with the guys I know," Kawai said.   
"Let us play matchmaker," Lys begged. "Kawai set me up with Kasukio and look how well it turned out!..."   
"No," Reia said adamantly.   
"I think their game's finishing up... yeah, Cye's heading for the lake. GO, now!" Kawai urged her, pushing her towards the door.   
"I don't know..." Reia whimpered, butterflies forming in her stomach.   
"We're rooting for you!" Lys said, practically jumping up and down.   
"The Ronin Warrior of Love is never wrong about a match," Kawai added proudly as Reia slunk out the door.   
  
Cye made his way down to the lake slowly, a little sore from his workout. Since Kento won, he had first dibs at the bathroom. Cye didn't care, he liked swimming at the lake, even if the water was a little cold.   
When he reached the end of the wooden swimming dock Kento had helped him build a few months back, he paused and just sat there, staring at the lapping water, enjoying being there. His thoughts drifted to Reia. They had been tending to drift there lately.   
"Cye..." A soft feminine voice said behind him. He jumped and goose bumps traveled up his arms. Turning, Cye found Reia standing at the other end of the dock. The breeze stirred her hair and the fabrics of her jeans and shirt.   
"Ah... hi," Cye croaked, too surprised to speak. Reia strolled over to the end of the dock.   
"Can I sit down?" She asked.   
"Yeah," Cye answered, moving over. Reia sat down and dangled her legs over the side in the same manner as him.   
It was a long time before either of them spoke. "I... I'm really glad you weren't hurt this afternoon... at the dojo," Reia finally staring out at the lake and not him.   
"Uh... me, too," Cye replied, mentally slapping himself. ~ 'Me, too'??? Very slick, Torrent... ~ He chided himself in his mind.   
"I.. I mean, I'm glad no one was seriously hurt, but I..." Reia took a deep breath; this was going to be hard to say. "I don't know what I would do if something happened to you," She finished, a single tear trickling down each side of her face. It took just about every fiber of his self control to keep Cye from just pulling her into his arms to comfort her and assure her everything was going to be OK.   
"I'm sorry I've been avoiding you, Cye... the truth of the matter is, it wasn't really you I was avoiding, it was my own feelings..."   
"Reia-"   
"Hear me out, Cye. I... Dear God, I hope I don't totally screw everything up, but... Cye, I think I'm falling in love with you." Her voice had dropped to a barely audible level at the end.   
Another lengthy, unbearable pause.   
"Aren't you going to say anything?" Reia finally asked.   
"Well, I would put my arms around you, but I'm afraid I'm a bit sticky," Cye replied. "I probably don't smell so good, either..."   
"Well... I don't care about that," Reia replied, lying.   
Cye stood up suddenly and began to un-tuck his tee shirt from his sweat pants.   
"Woah," Reia gasped, nearly falling off the dock. "What are you doing?"   
"I came down here to swim. Now you can join me," Cye replied, kicking off his sweat pants. He had dark blue boxers on underneath, or swim trunks, she didn't know one from the other.   
"I... I don't know, Cye," Reia stammered as Cye pulled off his shirt. She felt the heat rise in her cheeks when she saw him then; his bared muscular body. Cye smiled at her, making her blush brighter as he jumped into the water.   
"The water's great, join me!" He called from the water.   
"I don't know," Reia repeated, eyes darting from his pile of clothes back to him in the water.   
"Come on," Cye urged her, slapping the water.   
"I don't have a swim suit," She protested.   
"Jump in with your clothes on, then," Cye said.   
"No way," Reia sniffed, dismissing that thought with a wave of her hands.   
"Then take off your clothes," Cye murmured.   
"What?" Reia gasped, not quite sure she had heard him right.   
"Swim in your underwear," Cye continued. "It works for me, why not you? Well, I mean, you aren't having female problems or anything right now, are you?"   
Reia laughed and slapped her forehead, and turned away. Cye's heart sank, thinking she was going to walk away. She just stood there, her back turned to him. She laughed and turned around again, then turned away.   
"What is it?" Cye asked, a little impatiently.   
"I can't believe this," Reia grumbled as she kicked her shoes off. "I can not believe that I am actually going to do this..." She pulled her shirt out from her jeans and unbuckled her belt, pulling it off slowly. It took her a moment to unsnap her jeans since her hands were shaking.   
"You don't have to if you don't want to, Reia," Cye called from the water.   
"But I do," Reia replied, and it was true. Sure, she was more scared now than she could remember ever being, but she was sure there was some time she had been more scared. Like maybe the first time she used her armor, that had been pretty scary.   
Reia slowly slid her blue jeans of her long, slender legs and folded them up in a neat pile next to Cye's clothes. She smiled shyly at Cye, wondering if she should go ahead and remove her shirt as well. After a moments consideration she slowly rolled the black tank top off, leaving her wearing only her sky blue sports bra and panties of the matching color.   
She tip toed over to the edge of the water... and realized Cye was no where to be seen.   
"Where are you?... Cye?..." Reia got down on her hands and knees and leaned out over the water. "Cye?"   
Suddenly there was a spray of water under her, and strong hands grabbed both of her arms. Reia didn't even have time for a shriek of surprise as Cye pulled her head over heels into the water.   
Once there, she discovered he had lied; the water was cold.   
"Damn you!" Reia squeaked, glaring at him. "This water is frigid! Now what?"   
"Well, I suppose, I could ah... I mean, that is to say, we could..." Cye stuttered nervously. He wasn't like Sage, this was a new thing to him, and it scared the heck out of him.   
Reia draped her arms around his neck and pulled herself close to him with a sigh.   
"Do... this..." Cye finished as he brought his mouth down to cover hers with a warm kiss.   
  
"Lovely night," Sage observed, pulling back a curtain. Sage, Rowen, Kawai, Lys, Ryo, and Mia were assembled in the living room. Kayura was holed up in her room, Kento was taking a shower, and Kasukio, Xanthe, and Junichi were presumably in the rec room shooting pool.   
"Want to go for a run on the beach, Rowen?" He asked.   
Kawai and Lys looked at each other nervously.   
"Sure, that might be nice," Rowen said, putting his book down.   
"NO!" Kawai and Lys shrieked suddenly.   
"Uh... why not?" Sage asked, looking at them as if they had gone crazy.   
"You'll get sand in your shoes," Lys exclaimed, wincing as soon as the words came out of her mouth and Kawai gave her a dirty look.   
"Wouldn't the forest be a better place for a run?" Kawai supplied.   
"I always run there. The beach might be a good change of pace," Sage said in a dismissive manner.   
"But..." Lys whined.   
"You guys really don't have to go down to the beach..." Kawai said, sounding desperate.   
"What is with you two, why don't you want us going down to the lake?" Rowen asked, more suspicious than ever.   
"Well... it's just..." Kawai and Lys looked at each other, searching for answers in one another's eyes.   
"Hey, guys, where's Cye?" Kento asked from the stairs.   
"He's not in his room?" Ryo asked.   
"No... What, you mean he didn't come back from the lake yet?" Kento asked.   
"That lake?!" Sage exclaimed, looking at Lys and Kawai.   
"Yeah, he went down to take a dip after our game," Kento explained. "Why?"   
"Hey, where's Reia, Kawai?" Xanthe asked, coming into the living room, holding a deck of playing cards in his hand. "I wanted to return her cards to her..."   
All eyes turned to Lys and Kawai, who were both blushing now.   
"Spill your guts, girls," Sage said, leaning close to Kawai, his gray blue eyes drilling into her ice blue ones.   
  
Reia sighed and went limp in Cye's arms, dropping backwards and exposing her throat to him as his kisses strayed down to her neck and shoulders while she ran her fingers through his thick auburn hair. She could hear his ragged breathing in her ear when he pulled her back for another embrace, and she ran her hands from his shoulder down to his chest, scratching him lightly with her nails along the way.   
Cye could hear Reia take in a sharp breath when he slowly began to move his hands around on her hips, the bring them up, with his finger tips exploring the lower part of her rib cage, while his thumb rubbed the waist line of her underwear. He let his kisses stray down farther, to the hollow of her collarbone as her grip on his shoulders tightened until she nearly drew blood.   
They floated like that for awhile, either kissing or exploring each other as innocently as possible, making sure they could keep their desires in check. Or sometimes Reia and Cye remained motionless, just holding each other and reveling in the simple joy of being together.   
It was during one of those moments that Cye broke their silence. "Reia... God help me, I think I'm falling in love with you..." He whispered in her ear.   
"Cye, I-" Reia started to say as they leaned towards each other for another kiss, but the night air was shattered by another voice.   
"How very touching. Or should I say disgusting?" The smallest disturbance appeared over the water, causing ripples on it's otherwise glassy surface. The air around Cye and Reia suddenly seemed colder; he instinctively pulled her closer to him for both protection and warmth.   
A dark blue shadow appeared over the water and melted into the thin, almost wraithlike form of a woman. Her skin was dead white, and her eyes were one cloudy yellow, with no whites. She wore blood red body armor with a long black cloak that swirled in the chilly air around them, without the aid of a breeze. Her long black hair fell in several braids, like dreadlocks, to her waist. Cye could see barely see the edge of a crossbow peeking out at her side.   
"Greetings, little Ronins, I am Persephone, the Dark Ronin Warrior of Death!" Reia wasn't sure she liked the little accent Persephone had placed on the word 'death' nor the way Persephone licked her lips when she said it.   
A dark purple shadow appeared next to Persephone, and another woman appeared. She was small, but not skin and bones, just small. She wore her dark brown hair tied up in several braided loops, the excess falling in thick pig tails to her shoulders. She was clad entirely in purple, from her body armor, to her cloak, to the mask she was wearing.   
"We seem to have arrived just in time. I am Kaori, Lord Arcane's Dark Ronin of Suspicion," Kaori said. Cye and Reia were both surprised. By the sound of her voice, she couldn't have been much older than them!   
"It appears we arrived just in time," Persephone said, drawing out her crossbow and pointing it at Cye and Reia.   
"At least their last moments in this world will have been happy ones!" Kaori's velvety laugh filled the night air as a long bo staff appeared in her outstretched hand... 


	10. Caress of Death

"Reia... get out of here, RUN!" Cye shouted, pushing her behind him, towards the dock.  
"Are you insane?" She snapped. "This is no time to play at heroics!"  
"You really should have listened to the boy," Persephone murmured, smiling ever so slightly as her eyes flashed. A shock wave ripped through the water, towards the unprotected Ronins.  
"Watch it!" Reia screamed, moving in front of Cye before he could stop her, trying to create a shield. The brunt of the wave caught her, with enough force to throw her backwards, out of the water.  
"REIA!" Cye made a move to jump out of the water, but a strong telekinetic yank pulled him back, dunking him under the deeper water.  
"You're playing with me now, Torrent," Kaori murmured, her voice oddly calm.  
"Don't break your toy too quickly, Kaori," Persephone rasped, as she began to float to where Reia laid on the shore, dazed.  
The cold air that followed the Dark Ronin hit Reia's wet skin like a slap, shocking her to awareness.  
"Who are you?" Reia demanded as her sub armor appeared over her body, and she managed to rise to her feet.  
"I already told you, don't you pay attention?" Persephone shook her head.  
"Well, what do you want, then, O Death Warrior?" Reia shot back, with venom in her voice. "You caught me at a really lousy time, you know!"  
"Teenagers," Persephone sighed. "You superhero types always have to be bratty teenagers!" She pointed her crossbow at Reia, firing off a volley of red energy blasts.  
"Ah!" Reia screamed in surprise as the blast caught her off guard, throwing her backwards, onto the ground.   
Persephone moved downwards in a blindingly fast, steep swoop towards the stunned girl.   
~...Crap!~ Somehow Reia managed to get her muscles and mind to cooperate at the same time, and she rolled sideways, the spiked heel aimed for her head barely missing. She jumped away, taking Persephone's temporary distraction to dare a glance back at the lake.  
To her chagrin, a pea-soup fog had settled over the water, and the only sounds she could hear was the occasional explosion and splashing.  
"Cye!" She cried, but turned back as she sensed Persephone approaching again.  
The dark witch moved incredibly fast... too fast for Reia to get breathing room, much less call upon her armor and fight back more effectively. She could only dodge and block, but her defenses were wearing down and Persephone was landing more and more hits...  
  
~ Where did he go? ~ Kaori wondered, flying low over the choppy surface of the lake. Anger tugged at the cool, calm corner of her mind, that perhaps he had somehow eluded her. ~ No, I can't have lost him... he's only hiding... ~  
"Come out, now, Ronin scum!" She shouted, but the only answer she got was her voice echoing back.  
Then, all of a sudden, a huge blast of water sprouted up from the lake, catching her off guard and hitting her from below.  
"Aaahh!" She screamed out in shock as the blast pushed her back. She turned in the air, barely managing to steady herself. ~ Where is he?... THERE! ~   
Her only clue was a flash of pale blue as Cye, now in sub armor, dove beneath the surface again.   
"That trick won't work on me twice!" She shouted, twirling her staff in her hands. "ARCTIC TYPHOON!!!"   
Kaori raised her staff above her head, as freezing cold wind and rain began to pelt the lake. Soon, snow was in the air, and within a matter of moments, the water was freezing solid.  
"You enjoy the water so much, let it be your tomb!" She shouted. "I will enjoy watching you try to summon your armor when you are beneath a foot of ice, in such cold water... it would be a fitting end for Cye of Torrent to drown, wouldn't you think? Although I am afraid your weak human body will succumb to the cold first, armor or not!"  
The brunette threw back her head, laughing as the ice continued to build...  
  
"OK, yeah, so we sent Reia down there," Lys sighed, looking sideways, away from the now large group of males interrogating them.  
"I swear to God, men can be so dense!" Kawai sighed. "Why don't you just ask us to write it in neon paint on Tokyo Tower? We wanted to find time alone for them, DUH!"  
Both girls rolled their eyes at the shocked silence that followed.  
"Um... why?" Xanthe asked slowly, but before the girls could make a sarcastic comment, Rowen let out a strangled gasped and stumbled sideways, falling into the coffee table and knocking a lamp over.  
"Rowen!?" Sage was the first one close at hand, followed by the others. "What's the matter?"  
"...Something... is very wrong," Rowen hissed, clutching at his shoulder as if it was in terrible pain. Brilliant blue, the kanji of life force flashed on his forehead, in time to his racing pulse. "...Reia... and Cye, they're in big trouble... They're dying!..."  
  
"DEATH SPIRAL!"  
Reia screamed, as the last bolt fired from Persephone's crossbow, backed by some kind of black magic, hit her. She heard a sickening crack and felt a surge of horror just before the terrible pain as it penetrated her sub armor, actually going through her shoulder and lodging itself there.  
A kick to her chest only made the pain worse. When she flew backwards and slammed into a tree, it became too great and she collapsed against the ground, feebly clutching at her shoulder. Her breath came out in small, shallow gasps, each one a labor of agony.  
"This is really sad, I was hoping you would be more of a challenge," Persephone remarked as she watched Reia try to get up and fail.  
The blue haired girl coughed, and tried to ignore the blood in her mouth, and said nothing.  
"I suppose I should just put you out of your misery," She said, lazily, as if she'd simply suggested lending her money instead of killing her.  
~ Oh... God, this is it...~ Reia thought, burying her head in her arms. ~ I... can't... I don't have energy left to fight anymore... Kasukio, Lys... Kawai, Xanthe, Junichi... guys, I'm sorry... Cye...Rowen... ~  
"ARROW SHOCK WAVE!!!"   
~ !! ~  
"What?" Persephone's head whipped sideways, her mouth hanging open in surprise, a half a moment before the full force of the shock wave slammed into her, directly from the front, blasting her completely out of sight, for the moment.  
Rowen, from his position in a tree, had a bird's eye view of the situation. Many yards back, Persephone was picking herself out of the shattered remains of a tree. He looked around frantically for some sign of Cye or Reia, and a spot of blue and red against the brown and green forest floor caught his eyes.  
~ Oh my God...~ Horror spread through him like poison as he ran towards the fallen girl.  
Reia was laying on her stomach, unconscious, and barely breathing. Blood smeared around her in a pool, and he could see that a good portion of the upper part of her sub armor was cracked, almost completely shattered at her right shoulder where the evil arrow had hit it.  
When she'd fallen, it only drove the arrow in deeper, and at a nasty angle.  
Rowen cursed under his breath as his probing fingers finally managed to locate a pulse in her neck, but it was very weak. Sage and Lys were out there... somewhere, in the darkness, he had somehow lost track of the others. But he knew, if he didn't find a way to have Reia healed SOON, she would die.  
~ No freakin' way, ~ He thought, sourly, as he tried to figure out a way to move her without killing her. "SAGE! LYS! I DON'T CARE WHO, BUT SOMEONE WITH HEALING POWERS BETTER GET THEIR GREEN-CLAD BUTT OVER HERE!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.  
A hoarse scream snapped him back to reality as he turned to see Persephone, bleeding and battered, standing about 20 feet away.  
"You... how... dare... you..." She snarled. "...Attacking me from behind..."  
"I'd sure like to know which direction you attacked Reia from!" Rowen shouted back, drawing his bow. "Come any closer and I'll adjust it so you won't have to worry about attacks from any direction!"  
Persephone's cloudy yellow eyes turned a shade closer to red. "Bold words, boy," She said. "Bold words..."   
There was a sound of running feet, and shouting voices, and she flinched.  
"Another time, then, Strata..." Persephone said. "And, by the way, I think she's dead."  
Rowen loosed the arrow he'd been holding steady, but the woman vanished, and it flew through dead air before embedding itself into a tree.  
His attention back to Reia, he leaned down, praying to find some evidence of breath. There was none. He cursed again, but this time he was yelling.  
"If you die, I'll kill you," He muttered, tipping the girl's head back and taking a deep breath before covering her mouth with his own, trying to force air into her lungs.  
  
"Man, why in heck is it so cold out here?" Kento gasped, his breath coming out in white puffs.  
"The lake!" Junichi yelled, pointing. There appeared to be some sort of blizzard going on in the center, and thick ice had spread out even over the shore.  
Lys skidded to a stop, nearly falling on the ice. "Reia..." She mumbled. "Oh, no... Sage! Sage!"  
"What is it?" The blond asked, stopping beside her, wondering why she was calling him.  
"It's Reia, I can feel it... you have to come with me," She begged, grabbing his arm.  
"Where is she, Lys?" Kasukio asked, blatantly interposing himself between Lys and Sage, ignoring the annoyed look from the latter.  
"That way..." She said, just as Rowen's voice, faint and strained from the distance, called something.  
"We'd better hurry," Kasukio said. "I'll go with you guys..."  
"Me, too, I can help your healing powers," Kawai spoke up, appearing from the frigid fog.  
"Reia..." Xanthe began to say, but Junichi grabbed his arm.  
"You help us, there's still an evil presence out there," Junichi said, pointing. "You won't be able to help Reia, but we can help Cye!"  
~ Maybe I don't want to help him... ~ A tiny voice inside of Xanthe growled. Appalled by it, he forced it down and slowly nodded.  
As Lys, Kawai, Sage, and Kasukio faded into the fog, Junichi, Kento, Ryo, and Xanthe approached the icy lake at a sprint, in full armor.  
"I... I can feel it... Cye's..." Ryo gasped as they skidded out onto the ice.  
"He hasn't much time," Junichi nodded. "We have to break this ice!" He plunged the prongs of the trident into the ice at his feet with all his strength. "I'm going to bring up the water from under it..."  
"I'll help you break the ice," Xanthe nodded.  
"I want a piece of that Dynasty bimbo," Kento jerked a thumb at Kaori, still floating in the center of the blizzard.  
"You and me both, Kento," Ryo turned at charge at Kaori, and Kento followed.  
"On three," Junichi murmured, watching the two warriors as they grew closer to the target. "One..." He forced his weight on the trident, driving it farther into the ice.  
"Two," Xanthe raised his staff above his head, and waited.  
Ryo jumped into the air, preparing to attack...  
"Three! SUPER WAVE SMASHER!"   
"IRON ROCK CRUSHER!" As Xanthe's attack weakened, then shattered the ice, the water in the lake rose to Junichi's bidding, exploding upwards in a gigantic, icy fountain.  
Explosions of red, and heat that cut through the chilling fog signaled Ryo's strike, even if his voice was lost in the noise.  
From the mess of fire and flying ice, Kento emerged, hopping and splashing from ice block to ice block, carrying a pale, soaking bundle in light blue and white sub armor.  
"I got him!" Kento yelled. "But he's in bad shape!"  
Junichi shuddered slightly, feeling the energy of the lake trying to cope with the black magic that had been cast upon it, and the destruction all about. "Xanthe, get back to the house and get Mia and Kayura ready to receive wounded!"   
"What about you?" Xanthe demanded.  
"This Dynasty bitch is on my turf, now, I'll help Ryo. Just go, the others are probably back there with Reia by now!"  
That seemed to snap Xanthe into sense, and he turned to follow Kento, who was already halfway back to the house.  
Junichi was in the water, and off like a torpedo. Ryo was strong, he knew that, but by now the lake had returned to liquid, which would hamper Ryo, but not him. And, this attacker, whoever she was, needed to be stopped before she could cast that ice spell again...  
  
Lys bit her tongue to keep from screaming as Reia's grisly situation came into view.  
Rowen was crouched over her, a small bubble of blue energy around them as he desperately attempted CPR on her.  
Upon their arrival, the shield automatically dropped. Lys threw her sword to the ground, Sage sheathed his as the two catapulted to Rowen's side.  
"We have to get back inside," Kawai exclaimed as she arrived.  
"No time, we'd never be able to move her back," Lys snapped, trying to force herself to concentrate.  
Kawai flung her hands into the air. "DAO AI!!!" She cried, as purple energy began to spread out from her, forming a dome around the group. In a twinkling of pink light, they were gone...  
...Only to arrive in the living room of Mia's home, adding to the mass chaos already reigning there. People running about frantically, trying to keep Cye warm, gasped in horror at the unexpected arrival of their comrades. 


	11. The Storm

"Christ on a crutch!" Xanthe exclaimed, as Kawai teleported directly into the living room, with Lys, Sage, Rowen, and Reia in tow. "What HAPPENED??"  
"We'll explain later," Kawai said quickly, shoving him back. "We have to make room..."  
Xanthe stared down at the shorter girl, surprised at how... angry... she seemed, before snapping to sense again. "Hurry, make room on the couch!" He barked at Mia.  
"No, the floor is better," Lys said quickly. "But, um... some blankets, we need blankets..."  
Kento came pounding down the stairs, taking them three at a time.  
"I'm going back out there," He shouted on his way out, without stopping.  
A moment later, Kasukio appeared at the door, breathing heavily. "You... left me back there," He accused Kawai, glaring at her.  
"I didn't have enough energy to bring you, too," She exclaimed, just before sighing and staggering, putting her hand on her forehead. "I have to sit down..."  
"We'll get her upstairs into a bed," Mia appeared at Kawai's side, Kayura on the other, each taking one of the red head's arms to help her up the stairs.   
"No, no, I have to stay," She protested, pushing the women aside. "I have to reinforce Sage and Lys' healing shields..."  
  
~ We got Cye home breathin', and he's safe in a warm bed... Now that chick's gotta deal with ME. No one messes with MY buddy and gets away with it, woman or not! ~ Kento gritted his teeth against the still lingering cold in the lake.  
~ The question is... how do I get at her when she's out there? ~ He squinted at the distant forms. ~ Looks like Junichi's holding his own... where did Ryo go? ~  
"Kento!" Ryo's tired voice turned him away from the battle, as the waterlogged warrior of Virtue stumbled out of the water.  
"I held out as long as I could," Ryo said, pulling a weed off of his helmet, "But I'm just too hampered out there... if we could only draw her back here, then we could all fight..."  
"Don't look now, but I think Junichi read your mind!" Kento exclaimed, pointing to the large wake created by something moving towards them in the water very quickly.  
Junichi launched out of the water, stumbling on the solid ground rather ungracefully before he could catch himself.  
"Heads up!" He shouted, spinning on his heels, holding his trident high.  
Kaori came at them fast, all of her previous detached control lost in her irritation with them.  
Kento parried her staff's strike, returning with his own, driving her back on physical strength alone. As one of Ryo's blades cut the air with a low whistle, the Warrior of Suspicion recoiled, with blood running from a cut on her cheek.  
"No!" She held a gloved hand to the cut, shivering with the sting of barely suppressed anger. "You... if this leaves a scar, I'll..."  
"Women... always worried about their skin and nails," Junichi growled scornfully.  
"I will revisit your scars upon you a hundred times!" She screamed at him, rising off the ground again, and flying towards him.  
"Bring it on!" He shouted, the heat of his own battle-rage finally penetrating his own calm.  
A magic shield blasted around her, pushing Ryo and Kento aside as she went for Junichi. The Warrior of Trust held his ground, waiting to parry.  
Her staff collided with the shaft of his spear with the harsh grinding sound of metal on metal, as she pushed him backwards.  
Junichi grunted as he felt his feet slip from under him, and he fell onto his back. At a last second gamble, he threw his weight back, landing unharmed, and using his own momentum to throw his female opponent.  
"Ah..." He slowly got to his feet, using the trident as a lever, shaking with fatigue.  
"Junichi! Are you OK?" Ryo yelled, as Kento, the closest to him, began to hurry to the spot.  
"Give it up, you'll never be able to beat the three of us!" Kento shouted at Kaori as she picked herself off the ground.  
The masked woman did not answer, she only stood, watching the three, as if she were waiting for something.  
Then, the wind began to pick up. Ever so slightly, a small breeze.  
A small breeze, that quickly gained gale-force.  
"I have a bad feeling about this!" Ryo shouted over the howling wind.  
"Do you, Wildfire?" Kaori laughed. "WINDS OF FURY!!!"  
The concentrated elemental attack hit Ryo dead on, slamming him in the chest and throwing him back, into the water.  
"Ryo!" Kento shouted. He grabbed Junichi by the shoulder, shoving him back behind him. The shriek of the winds grew louder, and his shouts were lost in them.  
The destructive force of the gale slammed into the shield of rock that Kento pulled forth from the ground, and earth clouded the air with the explosion.  
The dust finally settled, and Kaori stood over the pile of shattered rock and broken trees.  
"Well," She said, crossing her arms and looking from side to side. "Men. All talk and no... Huh?"  
The ground beneath her feet exploded, as an orange blur shot up from the earth. Out of the corner of her eye, she barely managed to register the blue blur, before two attacks hit her at once. Junichi's spear slashed downward, shattering the brooch on her chest and slicing her cape, while Kento's staff came at an upward slash.  
"Ahhh!" She dropped to her knees, holding both hands over her face as her purple eye mask flew through the air, landing in the ground several feet away. Her severed cape settled on the ground around her in a violet pool.  
"Don't ever underestimate the Ronin Warriors!" Junichi hissed through his weary panting.  
"The Earth around me shielded me from your attack," Kento said, wearing a proud grin to cover how tired and stressed he really was. ~ Thing is, that's never happened before. What does this mean? ~ "So, I wonder, just who is the lady behind the mask?"  
He took a step towards Kaori, and she shouted something that wasn't very nice at him.  
She parted her fingers, just enough that one of her violet eyes could be seen. She glared at the two Ronin Warriors, unsure of who she hated more, the Warrior of Trust, or of Justice. "You... have made the most grave mistake of your life, Ronin," She hissed. "I shall return!"  
Kento waved at her. "Yeah, that's what they all say." He leveled his dark blue eyes on her violet, holding her angry gaze steady until she flinched away.  
"Pay back is hell!" She snarled, a red flush creeping across her face.  
"I'll be waiting!" Kento replied.  
"WE'LL be waiting!" Junichi spoke up as she vanished in a twinkling of purple light.  
Junichi picked up the cape, staring at the lengths of deep purple silk. A ways off in the brush, Kento found the mask and picked it up, turning it over in his hands.  
"Is she gone?" Ryo asked wearily, walking up from the beach. "I'm beat."  
"Yeah..." Kento took the cape from Junichi, wrapping the mask in the silk. "She's gone... let's get back and check on Cye and Reia."  
  
"Da... Dao... Chiiii..." Lys gasped out, as the last of her strength gave up and she collapsed against Kasukio, who was waiting behind her like a watchdog.  
Sage and Kawai leaned against one another, close to collapsing themselves.  
"Can't... give up..." Kawai moaned, reaching for Reia again. "Dao... Ai..."  
"Come on... you can... do it..." Sage whispered, as the last of his energy ran out and he collapsed as well, with Kawai hitting the carpet only moments after him.  
"Get... Reia... to a bed," Lys whispered, her voice so faint she could barely be heard. "We... got her through the worst, now... only time..."  
"And... get rid of that damned arrow, too," Kawai mumbled, her sides heaving with exhaustion. "It's evil... it needs to be far, far away from here... destroyed, if you can, it's been weakened enough..."  
Rowen scowled, picking up the black arrow, ignoring how cold it seemed to the touch. ~ Persephone... ~ His eyes darkened with anger as he snapped the arrow with his bare hands. The two halves hit the carpet, and vanished into a puff of black smoke.  
Xanthe took painstaking care to gingerly carry Reia up the stairs and get her to bed, while the others saw to Sage and Kawai. In time, Junichi, Kento, and Ryo returned, wearied but otherwise fine.  
Kayura hung in the shadows near Reia's bedside, watching the girl in her restless sleep. ~ Ancients help us... ~ She thought, biting her lip. ~ Those were only two of Arcane's warriors...~ She sighed. ~ Kaos, Anubis... we need all the help we can get... ~  
***  
"... Kento, I have to see her!" Cye protested, trying to sit up.  
"No way, little man." Kento pushed his friend back down. "You're not getting up. Besides, she's asleep. To be specific, you guys have both been asleep for the last two days."  
"...Dammit, Kento..."  
"...Dammit, CYE! You're not going anywhere, and that's that!" Kento shouted, pushing him back for about the hundredth time. "Reia's being watched, Lys says she's stable but she has to build up her strength on her own. She's in such a deep sleep right now, she won't even know you're there!"  
"But she will!" Cye protested. "She'll know, I can help her!" He struggled against Kento's stronger grip. "I can help... her... ah..." He wheezed, and let out a strangled little gasp before blacking out again.  
Kento reached for a damp cloth, and dabbed his friend's forehead. ~ I know ya can, buddy, but you won't be any use to her if you're dead... ~  
As Kento had stated, it had been nearly three days since the unexpected attack from Persephone and Kaori. Physically, they'd all recovered, except for Cye and Reia, who'd of course taken the worse of the injuries. The former had actually been drifting in and out of consciousness, demanding to see the latter when awake, before drifting back into a fevered sleep, crying her name.  
Kento had volunteered to watch over his friend, almost immediately after recovering from his own injuries. Aside from reminding Cye every time he woke up that he didn't have as much energy as he thought, the job was relatively easy, and it made him feel useful. After all, there was nothing they could do, but wait.  
The three Warlords had checked in the day before, reporting that they had seen no signs of Arcane making a move, but they would keep their eyes open, they said, before vanishing again. Kayura and the other Ronin Warriors, both present and future, were on teeth and nails with worry for the downed warriors.  
And Kento, at least, couldn't get that fight out of his mind.  
He grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, as his stomach echoed the growl.  
"Don't go anywhere," He said to his slumbering friend. "I'm gonna get a snack, and be right back."  
  
~ What is this?... Ah... ~ Reia furrowed her brow in the dull pain that nagged just behind her eyes. ~ Where am I? ~ She sat up, slowly taking in her surroundings. Her armor clanked as she got to her feet, and she was distantly aware of the bow she still gripped.  
She was standing on a rocky hillside, that looked like it could have once been apart of a much greater whole, but had been blasted apart. In her peripheral vision, she spied something gold glinting at the heart of the rocky mess. ~ One of my arrows? ~ She disregarded it, finding the scenes straight ahead of her more interesting than the decimated rock.  
The barren hillside stood at the edge of a great gorge, that seemed to have no end. So, she couldn't get across it, to find out what was on the other side.  
~ But how did this get here? ~ She wondered. Anxiety began to bubble up inside her... this massive hole was making her very uneasy, and she backed away from it.  
The sound of thunder turned Reia's head to the heavens, as a deluge of rain began to cascade from the sky.  
She closed her eyes against the cold sting of the rain as it pelted her body. Then, the sting began to lessen, until she barely felt the impact. The water soaked her hair and sluiced over her armor, washing it clean of the grime that encrusted it, and soothing the burning scrapes on her skin. She smiled, as the tremendous roar of the thunder and the clash of lightning seemed to be lost in the calming rain...  
~ Water... ~ Reia opened her eyes, and looked around. ~ Cye! ~ She turned, and noted a figure in pale blue armor, distant and blurred gray by the sheet of rain.  
She forced her legs into action, walking towards him. As they grew closer, the storm seemed to grow more severe.  
Using the power in the Armor of Strata, Reia fought through the winds until she could nearly reach his hand.  
"We have to get out of here!" She cried. "This storm is too strong..."  
Cye shook his head, and reached out, grasping her hand and pulling her close. Almost immediately, the raging hurricane seemed to die down to a gentle summer storm around them.  
  
"...I..." Reia gasped, sitting straight up in bed, clutching the blankets to her chest with sweaty fists. "What..."  
Outside, lightning illuminated a tree thrashing in the sudden spring thunderstorm that had descended on the area, and a moment later, rain began to drum steadily against the window.  
"The storm!" She cried, and began to look around wildly for Cye, before fully realizing where she was.  
~ I'm in bed... ~ Reia flushed a deep crimson at realizing she wasn't wearing much, only her underwear and a man's shirt, that was too large and unbuttoned. ~ Oh... my... did I... did we... ~ Her hand flew to her gaping mouth, and a sharp pain stabbed her in the right shoulder. Her left hand grabbed at the offending shoulder, as she winced in pain, biting her tongue to keep back a cry.  
~ No... I... I remember, I was hurt, ~ Reia's breath came out in hisses of pain through clenched teeth. ~ Those... Dynasty witches attacked us... oh, no! Cye! ~  
Sleepy mumbling from close by snapped her to attention, as she whipped around to face the shadows beside the bed, and cried out in pain as her shoulders protested.  
"...Reia! Rei-chan!" Lysithea exclaimed, as a pale hand flew to turn the lamp on the night stand on. Lys' silver hair and copper eyes glowed eerily in the dim lamp-light, her pretty face frozen in an expression of surprise.  
"Lys..." Reia's strength faltered, and she sagged down onto her side. Her friend darted to help her, turning her over onto her back.  
"You're awake... you're OK!" Lys whispered, smiling. "Reia..."  
"Lys... what happened?" Reia asked, staring blankly up at the off-white ceiling.  
"Don't you remember?" Worry quickly replaced the relief that had been in Lys' voice. "The attack?..."  
Reia winced again. "I remember," She grumbled, clutching her shoulder. The wound was closed and healed, with only a hint of a scar, but it still hurt, and her muscles were all stiff. "Cye and I were..." She trailed off, and Lys grinned. "...Talking, and we were attacked."  
"Well, this is hardly the time for me to ask why Junichi found your clothes at the bottom of the lake anyway," Lys shrugged. "So those chicks attacked you?... I'm so sorry, Reia... the others were right to worry, Kawai and I just thought..."  
"Lys, it's OK... we're alive..." Reia's face clouded over with worry. "Aren't we?"  
"Cye only needed a lot of sleep and to stay warm. It was you we thought might not wake up..." Lys bowed her head, her already sparkly eyes shimmering with tears.  
"The last thing I remember, before blacking out..." Reia had to concentrate to force herself to call up the memories. "Rowen... Rowen showed up, and attacked Persephone... He blew her away, and that was when I passed out."  
Lys nodded. "Well, at least there aren't gaps in your memory... when we found you, Rowen was trying to help you..." She smiled lightly, and sniffled. "I think he cares about you more than you think... we had to practically pry him away from you, so Sage, Kawai, and I could heal you..."  
Reia flushed, and glared at Lys. "He'd have done the same for any of us..."  
"Maybe," Lys shrugged again. "It's been three nights now, since you were attacked... Cye woke up this morning, but he's still too weak to get out of bed... otherwise, I'm sure, he'd have broken down the door and tossed me out a window to be at your side and watch you... Kento's on the verge of knocking him over the head with a pot..." The half-fey girl giggled lightly. "It would be beyond cute, if, you know... our situation wasn't so dire."  
"Hm... I... I want to see him," Reia said, forcefully.  
"Slow down, there... it's about midnight, everyone's asleep... well, Kasukio just went down to the kitchen to get a soda for me... and Kento's up in Cye's room, to make sure he doesn't try to get up and end up hurting himself again during the night," Lys explained.  
"Please, Lys, I feel fine, I have to get up and walk or my legs are going to turn all flabby," Reia exclaimed, kicking the covers off and flinging her legs over the side of the bed.  
"GOING to turn?..." Lys began, before a pillow, courtesy of Reia's good arm, smacked her upside the head. She giggled again, and smoothed her hair down. "I guess you are feeling better..."  
  
Cye nearly fell out of bed, he sat up so fast upon waking from the dream.  
"Reia..." He gasped, before realizing he was sitting in his bed, alone. The chair Kento had been sitting in when he fell asleep was unoccupied, and shadows drifted around the room, changing as the wind from the storm shifted the branches of the trees outside the window, and lightning occasionally illuminated the area.  
He shivered, thinking of how violent the storm in his dream had been.  
~ I remember... the wind, it was blowing so hard, and then... Reia... ~ He slowly climbed out of the bed, and walked over to the window, gripping the sill to steady his balance for a moment, ignoring the slight chill that penetrated his sweat pants and tee shirt.  
~ She made the winds die down, to a nice breeze for us, and I made the rain ease, ~ He stared out at the night sky, although he could see nothing outside through the darkness, except for from the occasional flash of lightning. ~ That had to mean something, had to... I usually don't have dreams, period, and this one was just... I don't know...~  
  
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Kento whispered, as Lys half dragged him down the hall, away from his and Cye's room.  
"Yes! Good heavens, Reia was getting ready to knock me down," Lys exclaimed, releasing his arm. "You said so yourself, Cye's asleep... so, we'll let her go in there, and check on him, 'cause she will NOT take my word for it he's OK..." She frowned slightly, and looked at Kasukio, who's bright red hair made him show up well in the dark. "Were we this anxious about EVERYTHING when we started going out?"  
"You mean obnoxious?" Kasukio grinned.  
"Yes. And you still are," Reia mumbled, appearing at her doorway. "How do I look?"  
"He's asleep, it doesn't matter," Kento said, looking her up and down. She still looked like someone who had been asleep for three days, but she'd found some shorts to accompany the huge shirt she was wearing, and some socks. Her blue hair was down, cascading over her shoulders in a messy disarray.  
"I don't need an escort or anything... why don't you guys get some sleep?" She said, just as Lys yawned.  
"Nuh uh," Kasukio protested. "What if you..."  
"I'm not gonna die, I'm just a little stiff... and you know, if something really bad happened, and Cye and I couldn't call for help... which isn't likely... the rest of you would have a lot more on your hands than a couple of-"  
"Love birds... who's wings got clipped," Lys smiled, and sighed. "That was pretty cool, I'll have to remember that for a poem or something...you win, Reia. Come on, Kasu-chan..." She tugged on the red head's sleeve, and turned to walk down the hallway, looking back at him with a beckoning smile.  
"See ya, Reia!" Kasukio spun on his heels to follow after the silver haired girl as they headed down the steps, probably to the kitchen.  
"I was gettin' hungry anyhow," Kento shrugged, and slowly walked off.  
Reia chuckled dryly, and padded over to the door to Kento and Cye's room, to find it partially cracked open. She slowly pushed it open, willing it not to creak. ~ If he's asleep, I wouldn't want to wake him up, ~ She thought as she poked her head inside, squinting through the darkness.  
It took a moment for her vision to adjust, and she realized Cye wasn't in either bed. She looked around the room, and finally spied him, standing by the window. Lightning flashed again outside, illuminating him for the briefest instant. Her eyes, still sensitive to the light, flinched away, but there was a vague imprint of the objects in the room behind her eyes for a moment when she closed them.  
~ The storm is a violent one, ~ She thought, as she began to slowly and carefully walk toward him. ~ There will probably be some felled trees in the morning... ~ The wind shrieked outside, and the rain rattled the windows.   
She was within touching distance when Cye seemed to sense her presence. He stiffened, and stood up straight, but did not turn around.  
Reia wrapped her arms around him, clutching at the front of his shirt with her hands, and burying her face against the back of his neck.  
"We made it through, then," She murmured.  
"Reia..." Cye's hands came up to cover hers. "You're OK..."  
"I'm tougher than I look," She giggled slightly, and sniffed. "Are you OK?"  
"I'll live," He replied. "This... beastly storm woke me up, though..."  
"The storm can't hurt us, Cye," Reia murmured, hugging him tighter, remembering her dream. "We are the storm... The wind..."  
"...And the rain..." Cye did turn, then, still holding her hands, leaning down to kiss her.  
~ The storm can't hurt us, no matter how violent it gets, no matter what... or who... it flings at us... ~ 


	12. An Afternoon Out

Days passed, turning to weeks, with no sign of Dynasty activity. The Ronin Warriors remained on vigil, not so willing to let their guard down as before, but still, nothing.  
"Bored!" Kento whined. "Bored, bored, bored, bored, I AM BOOOOOORRRRRRED! I think Arcane's just waiting for us to get OLD!"  
He was sprawled across the couch, staring at the ceiling, leaving just enough room for Cye and Reia at the end of the couch.  
"I, for one, am happy to have peace and quiet," Reia said, rubbing her shoulder.  
"Well, uh..." Kento quieted down. "I'd still like to nail those chicks who got you guys," He added, sheepishly. ~ Can't stop thinking about it, actually... don't like that. ~  
"I would, too, but there's really not much we can do... hm?" Cye cocked his head at a sound behind them.  
Reia turned around, seeing Lys and Kasukio almost to the door. "Where are you two going?" She asked.  
"Oh, uh," Kasukio turned around. "To the city."  
"To... make sure Arcane hasn't had any adverse effects on the people... y'know, just check things out," Lys added, fingering the end of the braid she'd tied her hair into.  
"Can we go?" Xanthe appeared at the stairs, followed by Junichi. "We're rotting here, and..." he paused at the "Look" Kasukio shot them. "Oh... I get it."  
"Patrol, my foot," Reia shook her head, turning around and reaching for a magazine on the coffee table.  
"What?" Kento asked, sitting up.  
"They made that up about checking out for Arcane, they're just going on a date," Junichi waved his hand dismissively as he turned and walked up the steps.  
"...Well..." Lys blushed furiously, gripping her braid harder in both hands.  
"So what if we are?" Kasukio demanded of the air in front of him. "It's not as if we're under house arrest..."  
"What if Arcane decides to ambush you, like Reia and me?" Cye asked, turning around on the couch to face the couple at the door.  
"We'll be careful," Lys cried, throwing her hands up in the air. "Don't worry, we won't let them get us off guard. Besides, I doubt they'd try anything in the city... They're more of the type to ambush when we're alone, right?"  
"Still..." Ryo spoke up from the kitchen doorway, where he'd been for a few moments. "I don't like the idea..."  
"Man, does EVERYONE have an opinion about this?" Kasukio shouted.  
"I know!" Lys exclaimed. "If you're so worried about us, then..." She snapped her fingers. "We'll take Cye and Reia with us! It can be like a double-date!"  
"N...NANI?!" Reia exclaimed, her magazine flying up in the air as she whirled around.   
"Why drag us into this?" Cye cried.  
"Oh, come on, it'll be fun!" Lys bounced over to the couch, grabbing Reia's hands. "Kasu-chan and I never get time alone anymore, and I'm sure you and Cye haven't..."  
"Lys, please..." Reia and Kasukio moaned in unison. Cye remained silent, but all three were turning an interesting shade of pink.  
"Pleeeease, Reia? Nothing's happened in weeks, we're dying here! AND, with you, me, Kasu-chan, and Cye all out there, we're practically a full team of Ronin Warriors, no way they'd attack all of us, right?"  
"Well, I..." Reia sighed. Lys' eyes were practically shining, she could tell her friend was really eager to get the heck out of Mia's house, at least for a day. ~ She must feel suffocated here, even with the forest around her. Poor Lys, part of her is sprite that craves the out of doors, the other half is city-bred human. ~  
She glanced at Cye, hesitant to make a decision. Their eyes met, and he shrugged.  
"Oh, all right," She murmured, resisting the urge to sigh or roll her eyes.  
"All right!" Lys grinned. "Well, we have to do something about your clothing, Reia. Torn jeans and shirts that are ten sizes too big are all right for the house, but we're going out. Come on!" She grabbed Reia's hand, and before anyone knew it, whisked her away.  
"So... now what?" Cye asked after a lengthy pause, looking back and forth between Ryo, Kento, and Kasukio for help.  
"Make yourself comfortable," Kasukio said, settling down in a chair across from the couch. "It will probably take Lys awhile to get Reia into something she deems presentable."  
"What was wrong with what she had on?" Kento asked, sitting up. "I mean, Reia looks hot in every-" he paused at the sharp look from Cye. "That is, her outfit was fine."  
"I know that, and you know that," Kasukio said, pointing at himself, then Kento and Cye. "But Lys has this scary preoccupation with trying to make Reia more feminine." The red haired boy grinned at Cye. "My friend, you have gone and fallen in love with one of the biggest tom boys to grace God's green earth."  
"Reia, a tom boy?" Kento exclaimed. "She didn't seem much like one to me."  
"Well, she's not as much now as when she was little," Kasukio pulled out his wallet, and rifled through it. "Ah, here..." He handed a faded picture to Cye. "This is some of us when we were in elementary school."  
"Woah."  
"Dude!" Kento snatched the picture from Cye, scanning it quickly with his eyes. "If it weren't for the school uniform, I'd swear that kid was Rowen!"  
Kasukio chuckled. "Up until that magical age of thirteen, everyone else would have said the same thing. The only time you saw her in a skirt EVER was when she was in school, and even then she lobbied to get a boy's uniform, but of course her mom wouldn't let her. About the only thing that changed when she got a little older was she let her hair grow out, really."  
"What's going on in here? Oh, Kasukio, you don't still have that awful picture, do you?" Kawai exclaimed leaning over Kento's shoulder to look at the picture, before taking another bite of the cherry popsicle she was eating.  
"Man, not only am I dying of boredom, she got the last popsicle!" Kento wailed as Kawai snatched the photo from him.  
"I hate this picture, I was such a little chunk when I was a kid," Kawai complained, holding the old picture up to the light. "Gosh, how we've all changed... this was before Junichi and Xanthe moved to our town, ne?"  
"Yeah, that's third grade, I think," Kasukio replied.  
She giggled. "Look how short Rei-chan's hair was! She looks exactly like..." She paused. "Just like Rowen." She handed the picture back to Cye.  
"Somebody call?" Rowen strolled through the room, holding a paperback. "What about me?"  
"Just a, um... picture of me and the girls when we were kids," Kasukio explained as Rowen took the picture from Cye.  
"Sure, go right ahead Rowen, I've seen it already," Cye mumbled sarcastically.  
Rowen eyed it for a moment, but said nothing as he handed it back to Kento, before walking off.  
"Man..." Kento shook his head as he returned the picture to its owner. "Rowen's been like a zombie..."  
  
"Well, how shall we spend yet another day of waiting?" Xanthe asked, pacing around the room. When he got no answer, he turned to Junichi, who was laying on his stomach on a bed, reading sheet music. "Jun?"  
"Study?" Junichi asked in a flat tone. "I haven't seen you crack a single one of those chemistry books you borrowed off of Rowen."  
Xanthe frowned, looking at the high stack of the mentioned text books. "There has to be something else... I could practice my mono-..."  
"DON'T," Junichi interrupted. "I'VE memorized that stupid monologue by now. Romeo was one obnoxious fellow, and you bring it out well, so no need to practice."  
"It's "Hamlet", not "Romeo and Juliet", I played Romeo LAST year, remember? If you can't keep the works of Mr. William Shakespeare straight, you could at least keep the roles I've played straight, thank you very much," Xanthe replied.  
"It's all the same to me. I repeat, anything but the monologue... please?..."  
Xanthe picked up a Magic Eight Ball that was sitting on the desk, and held it out, ignoring his foster brother as he drifted into his infamous 'acting trance'. "Alas, Horatio..."  
A pencil flew through the air, hitting Xanthe square in the back of the head.  
"I'm tired of Shakespeare," Junichi stated at the irritated look Xanthe shot him. "You do know this dead playwright you idolize so wrote those sonnets for another man? How can you stand all that "thee" and "thou" stuff, anyway?"  
"What's your point?" Xanthe asked, turning around and crossing his arms. "You're just trying to bait me."  
Another pencil.  
"Yup. Sue me, I'm bored."  
"OK... you asked for it!" Xanthe exclaimed, tackling his friend, knocking him onto the floor.  
"So it's gonna be like that, huh?" Junichi squirmed out from under Xanthe and got him into a headlock. "Give it up!"  
"No way!"  
And the impromptu wrestling match ensued.  
  
"There!" Lys ran a brush through Reia's hair. "See, you look good!"  
Reia looked herself over in the mirror, and flinched. "Lys, I dunno..."  
"I really don't understand why you don't care to be a little more feminine," Lys said, putting her hands on her hips.  
"I just don't," Reia shrugged, turning around. "This skirt is SO short, though..."  
"I hardly think halfway down to your knees is too short," Lys replied.   
"Where do you GET all these outfits anyway?" Reia asked. "It's not as if you were able to pack before we time traveled." She eyed the snug fitting midnight blue skirt, and the dark yellow, blue, and black patterned blouse.  
"Oh, little of this, little of that, little bit of magic," Lys shrugged. "A good magician and a good beautician have one thing in common... she never reveals her secrets. Sure you don't want some makeup?"  
"You have me in a skirt and..." Reia paused, as if the next words were evil. "...High... heels... What more do you want from me??"  
"Aiya, I give, I give! And they're not high heels, good grief, just 'cause they're not sneakers or combat boots..." Lys jumped backwards, her skirt swishing with her movement. "Oh well. Show time! Wish I had a camera to document the guys' faces when they see your makeover."  
"It's NOT a makeover, that would imply I plan to stay this way," Reia hissed as Lys grabbed her hands to whisk her away again.  
They passed by the open door of the room Xanthe and Junichi were staying in. The two boys were on the floor, apparently wrestling.  
"Male nonsense," Lys muttered as she skidded to a stop, with Reia nearly running into her from behind. "Hey, guys! We're leaving now!"  
"Bye," They both grunted in unison. The girls shrugged and continued on down the hall.  
"Woah, hold up!" Xanthe pinned the younger boy suddenly. "Did you just see what I thought I just saw?"  
"I think... Reia was wearing a skirt," Junichi said slowly, out of breath.  
The two stared at each other for a moment before jumping up from the floor, and chasing after the girls.  
They skidded to a stop at the top of the stairs to keep from falling, and watched Lys lead Reia into the living room.  
"I knew Lys and Kasukio were going on a date, but why's Reia dressed up?" Xanthe mumbled.  
"I guess... she and Cye are going with them," Junichi replied, an almost apologetic tone.  
"No way," Xanthe exclaimed. "Reia doesn't GO on dates..."  
"Reia doesn't usually have... boyfriends... either, Xanthe," The younger boy said quietly, putting a hand on Xanthe's shoulder. "You're gonna have to let her go, man."  
"...I..." Xanthe closed his eyes, and clenched his jaw. "...Let go of what?" He pulled away from Junichi, and ran down the stairs.  
"...Xanthe!" Junichi hissed, following after him. ~ Please, don't make a scene! ~  
Xanthe wasn't prepared to make a scene, however. As he neared the bottom of the stairs, he pulled his somewhat turbulent emotions together and slammed them behind a mental shield, and composed himself. After all, he was a good enough actor he could have fooled even Junichi when he walked into the living room (had Junichi not already known).  
"I had to see for myself... are you REALLY wearing a skirt, Reia?" He exclaimed, wide eyed.  
"I don't see what is so difficult to believe about it," She shook her head. "Yeah, a skirt! Stockings too, how about that? And look, high heels!" She kicked one of her feet high in the air and stood there, on one foot. "Yes, despite popular belief, I am female, Xanthe."  
"...Reia... don't do that," Lys mumbled. "Come on."  
Reia relaxed her stance. "Sorry, Xanthe. I just don't see why this is such a big deal."  
"We're bored out of our minds, that's why," Junichi groaned.  
"Anything new is a welcome distraction from just waiting for Arcane to attack us again, after all," Xanthe added.  
"Will you guys just get out of here before it gets too late?" Kento waved at the door. "Or before Rowen and Ryo come up with a real reason to make you stay here? I just know they're sitting in the kitchen right now like a couple of disapproving old ladies." He laughed.   
"Right, we really should go," Lys looked at her watch. She took hold of Kasukio's hand, and all but pulled him from his chair. "Come on, Kasu-chan."  
Reia glanced at Cye, and smiled, a little shyly. She began to feel a little nervous.  
"Just remember our little talk, son," Kento added, in a teasing manner. Cye whirled around and tossed a pillow at his head. Kento returned to his previous sprawled position on the couch, laughing.  
"Yeah, well, you just lay on the couch like a bump on a log, for all I care," Cye teased back. "Maybe one of those Dark Warriors will trip over you."  
"...Be the last thing they ever trip over," Kento mumbled sleepily, waving as the four finally made their way out the door.  
Xanthe looked at Junichi, and sighed. "Well... now what?"  
"Shh..." Junichi raised his finger to his lips. "I think Kento fell asleep."  
"Well, then, no more of his griping for awhile," Xanthe shrugged.  
"Yeah, we'll have to listen to yours instead," Junichi jibed, as he ducked a fake punch from Xanthe at the same time.  
Kawai, who'd been so quiet neither of the boys had noticed her, spoke up. "Think they'll be OK?" She asked.  
"They'll be fine," Junichi replied. "And if anything goes wrong..."  
"We'll know," Xanthe interrupted. "We'll know."  
"Hm... I guess you're right." Kawai turned to walk into the kitchen, and the two boys followed after her. "I wonder how things have been going for the Warlords, we haven't seen them in awhile. And where is the ever elusive Lady Kayura, anyway?"  
"Wish we knew," Ryo answered Kawai's rhetorical question when she walked in. He and Rowen were seated at the table, the latter immersed in the paperback he'd been carrying earlier, apparently ignoring the world.  
"Well," She said, after a pause. "I guess, I'll leave you boys to... discuss whatever it is boys discuss," She shrugged and giggled, flipping her hair over her shoulders.  
She wandered aimlessly, taking it upon herself to head back upstairs. As she passed by an open door, she heard the faint sound of keys clacking, and poked her head in to see Mia working at the computer.  
"Hi, Mia," She called. "Whatcha doing?"  
"Oh, Kawai," Mia smiled at her, as she walked over to look at the computer screen. "I thought I would go through my grandfather's old data, to see if there's anything about Arcane in there. From what you tell me, he sounds like a very old power..."  
Kawai nodded. "He seems very strong to me. And, from what we know, he is a sorcerer. Magic... power like that is built over time, or with..." She shivered. "Blood. Somehow I get the feeling he's had plenty of both."  
"There isn't a whole lot about magic in here at all," Mia noted, with a little frown. "Almost all of my grandfather's work pertained to Talpa's Dynasty, and the mystical Armors."  
Kawai laughed lightly. "Maybe you should continued his work... add to his data?"  
"I have," Mia said, ejecting the disk already in the computer, and putting a new one in. "Here."  
Images flashed across the screen, diagrams of the armors, and the weapons. A new picture, one of Kawai's armor, was included in the lot.  
"Where'd ya get that?" Kawai exclaimed.  
"Lady Kayura was helping me, before she went off to... wherever..." Mia hid the worry in her voice, but Kawai could sense it anyway. "Your armor, Kawai, is very interesting."  
"Eros?" She asked, a little surprised. "What's so interesting about that?"  
"Well, aside from the fact that it's a totally new armor..." Mia clicked some more keys. "The Armor of Eros is taken from pieces of the other armors, but, it has a quality all it's own. It symbolizes the Power of Love, the way Wildfire symbolizes Virtue, or Halo, Wisdom. I think, perhaps, you could grow to have power over other emotions..."  
Kawai nodded slightly. "My armor, it... well, it makes my mind more powerful..." She blushed lightly, a little embarrassed. "I can... tell what other people are feeling, even when I'm not in armor."  
"Empathy?... Very interesting..." Mia entered in the new data. "Perhaps, this could lead to telepathy... or other psychic abilities. And, one of the most interesting things yet..." She swiveled around, to look at Kawai. "Because of the nature of it's origin, it could very well have the potential to be as powerful as Inferno."  
"No way," Kawai exclaimed. "No way, my armor... offensively, it's not much really. I do have some attacks, but..."  
"I would not underestimate one of the Ronin Armors, even if it IS new," Mia put in. "Maybe it could be for the best, if the enemy thinks you're weak, though... underestimation can be a powerful tool, can't it?"  
Kawai nodded, unconsciously playing with her hair in thought. "When did you become a great tactician, Mia?" She asked, with a little grin. Now it was Mia's turn to blush.  
"I'm not, really..." The older girl turned back to her computer screen. "Some of it just seems to rub off, being around the Ronin Warriors so much..."  
"Well, you sure gave ME a lot to think about," Kawai replied, with a little sigh. "I wonder, if I should tell the others about this... I mean... they know that Lys taught me some magic, but they don't know about my, uh..." She tapped her head.   
"Your armor, your powers," Mia replied. "I would understand if you didn't want to tell them anything, but..." She paused. "It could be useful information for them."  
"Well, like I said, I have a lot to think about now," Kawai shrugged. "Anyhow, back on the subject of Arcane..." She scratched the top of her head. "Something about those two witches who attacked Reia and Cye makes me think, but I don't know what it is..."  
"Let's see..." Mia turned back to her computer. "What do we know about them?"  
"Not much, just what they called themselves, really.... Ohmigosh, that's it!" Kawai jumped. "They called themselves the warriors of Death and Suspicion!"  
"And Reia and Cye are the Warriors of Life and Trust!" Mia exclaimed. "That's it! So, Arcane must be creating warriors to counter your own powers!"  
"Well, we got Death and Suspicion," Kawai said. "So, that leaves..." 


	13. Museum Battle

Reia fidgeted with the sleeves of her blouse, staring alternately at her hands folded on her lap, or out the window at the passing countryside. Upon actually leaving the house, they'd elected Cye to drive, and she was sitting in the passenger side.  
"So... did you two have any actual plans for this outing?" Cye asked at last, looking at Lys and Kasukio in the rearview mirror. "Before you swept us up into the afternoon?"  
"Actually, believe it or not, we did," Lys reached into her purse, and produced a folded brochure. "I finally talked Kasu into taking me to see this awesome museum."  
Cye glanced at the brochure as Reia opened it to read it. "Ah, yeah, I've been there before... that place is huge, they have everything. They just opened an addition to the fine arts wing last month, I think."  
"Hm... Natural history, art, science... maybe this won't be so bad after all," Reia mumbled. "In our time, you can't get into places like this unless you've got a lot of money..."  
"Which no one does," Kasukio added.  
  
Kaori stared at herself in the mirror, her face not betraying any emotion.   
Her mask was on the dresser, on top of her carefully mended and folded cloak. She had taken her hair from it's loops and braids, and it hung halfway down her back in dark brown waves.  
Her brow furrowed, as her stormy violet eyes narrowed, the glass of the mirror cracked from the force of the smoldering anger in her eyes.  
She reached up to touch the wound she'd taken from Ryo's sword on her cheek, now just a small line. The scar would fade, but... Her hand went down, to the bottom of her throat at her collar bone, where a small, X-shaped mark was.  
It had been weeks since her battle with the Ronin Warriors, and STILL, the combined blow from Kento of Hardrock and Junichi of Torrent remained. It was... to say the least, extremely vexing. By now the servants had figured on bringing her food and drinks only in metal or wooden ware... glass objects in her possession had a tendency of breaking lately...  
To make matters worse, she hadn't seen much of her father at all. Well, that in itself wasn't bad, but she dared not act against the Ronin Warriors without his permission. She'd learned by now, Arcane did not take well to defiance, particularly from her. As a child, she'd learned quickly that obeying her Lord and Father was always less painless.  
Kaori blinked painfully away from the cracked mirror, resisting the urge to punch and shatter the already cracked glass. Maybe, one of the glass shards would 'accidentally' slit her wrist... ~ No, what am I thinking? Silly thoughts, girl, you're letting these thoughts make you weak. ~  
She put her mask back on, unable to bear the sight of the old scar that marred the skin around her eyes anymore. Walking over to her bed, she sat down, and began rebraiding her hair.  
The room seemed awfully cold and quiet, with no promise of the only company she cared to have anymore. Yormo had been gone almost as much as Arcane. He, Celtia, Jiquar, and Fiian were seldom seen, since Balin had assigned them to hunting down Lady Kayura and the former Warlords. On the occasion that Yormo did break from his work to come see her, he could only tell her that they were all laying plans and traps on her own. The thought almost made her laugh... the idea of that bubble-brain blond and that revolting sword swinger coming up with plans, much less traps... and as for Jiquar, she could care less if he succeeded or not. Yormo was the only one she ever thought about...  
Kaori could feel her bottled up emotions threatening to explode again, and decided it best to get somewhere out in the open, away from her confined quarters.  
She wandered through the halls of the castle, letting her feet take her where they may. In the end, she found herself at the practice field.  
That mercenary woman Osa was throwing knives at various targets she'd set up, alone on the field.  
Upon sensing her presence, the red head froze, a knife poised in her hand to be thrown, and looked up at Kaori.  
"Lady Kaori," She said, sounding almost surprised.  
~ SOMEONE around here affords me some respect, ~ Kaori thought sarcastically as she walked out onto the field. ~ Even if she is likely being sarcastic. ~  
"I was beginning to wonder if I was the only Dark Ronin left around here," Osa remarked casually. "Balin is always off plotting or planning with Lord Arcane, and Persephone's gone off to sulk since Rowen of Strata gave her a taste of her own medicine..." She gave Kaori a measuring glance. "You must want revenge on those that got away from you..."  
"I cannot act without my father's permission," Kaori shook her head firmly. "Although I wish I could..." She clutched her hands into fists. "Not only would I like to crush those Torrent warriors... I want to kill Kento of Hardrock, too..."  
"Hm, well..." Osa held up a knife, that glittered in the light of the torches nearby. "Hardrock is my quarry, dear child. However..." She gave Kaori a sly smile. "Perhaps we can work something out. Or... if you can defeat me, you should be strong enough for three, and I'll give you Kento of Hardrock. After all... I could plan my strike against the other one with more... finesse... that way."  
~ Hm... a chance to work out my frustrations? And get a chance to get at that insolent earth fighter, too? Well, why not! ~ Kaori summoned her staff, and fell into ready position.  
"I love it when chicks fight..."  
Both women turned towards the deep voice, as the huge figure that accompanied it emerged from the shadows.  
"What do you want, Trox?" Osa growled, looking up at the tall, dark skinned man.  
"Oh, I dunno... that outfit crumpled up on my floor in the morning?" Trox grinned, his teeth showing up bright white.  
A dagger at his throat made his grin fade. "I'm already tempted to kill you, don't push it," Osa said quietly. "Go away, so we can have our match."  
"Wouldn't you rather duel with me? It's not really proving anything to beat a skinny little girl," Trox shot back.  
Osa sighed, putting her hands on her hips and glancing back at Kaori, who's face echoed her disgust. ~...Trox is such a moron, what could Lord Arcane POSSIBLY want with him? He even insults the lord's daughter to her face! Not even Fiian has that kind of gall! ~  
"Anytime, pig," Kaori replied. "If you were to harm me, my father's punishment for you doesn't bear thinking about." She chuckled. "Even if we don't get along that well, I am still his only heir."  
"Now, now, children, are we quarreling?" Another masculine voice, heard before seen.  
"Balin, this does not concern you," Trox snarled.  
"Oh, but it does, my underlings," Balin laughed at the irritated expressions on their faces. "Like it or not, I am in charge, remember."  
"Well, have you some business, or did you just come to flaunt your rank?" Osa demanded crossly.  
"Actually I just came to fetch our big friend here," Balin replied, nodding at Trox. "Arcane thinks you're ready to be let off your leash."  
"Yes..." Trox narrowed his eyes, laughing. "About time! I'll smash the Ronin Warriors!"  
"Don't get ahead of yourself, I'm going, too... to make sure you don't have too much fun." Balin held up a hand, and shot the females a look to silence their protests. "Kaori, you've had your chance, and your father doesn't think you fit to attempt a strike again. Bide your time, Osa, you'll get your second chance eventually."  
"Let's get going," Trox said quickly. "You'll just have to wait for me to return, ladies."  
The two vanished with only small sparks of black light to signify their exit.  
"Hm." Osa crossed her arms, glaring at the thin air. "It won't be any skin off my nose if the Ronin Warriors trounce them both."  
Kaori nodded. "Now, Osa... about that match..."  
  
"It's hard to believe these incredible creatures lived so long ago, and now there's nothing left of them," Lys murmured, craning her neck to look up at the top of the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton.  
"Uh-huh... fascinating," Reia replied, stifling a yawn with her hand.  
"Gosh, this place has everything," Lys continued to talk, mostly to herself, holding the brochure in one hand and dragging her boyfriend along with the other. Kasukio had placed himself into some sort of trance, and nodded and mumbled a response whenever she talked to him.  
Reia moved to follow after Lys and Kasukio, but Cye surprised her by taking hold of her hand, and letting the crowd create some distance between them and their friends.  
"Are you bored?" Cye asked, without taking his eyes off of the dinosaur.  
"Was it that obvious?" Reia replied, feeling a little guilty. Cye seemed to be enjoying the museum as much as Lys was, but Reia didn't see the big deal.  
"Well this is a big museum, there's other stuff we could look at," He replied, smiling at her.  
"REIA! Pick up the pace!" Lys called from the end of the hallway.  
"Commando-Lys speaks," Reia said with a grin, nodding towards her. "We'd better follow her."  
Cye shrugged and followed Reia as she pushed her way through the crowd towards their companions.  
"Where should we go next?" Lys asked, settling down on a bench and unfolding a huge map.  
"Wherever there are less people... I'm feeling claustrophobic here," Kasukio answered quickly, jerking about uneasily as people bumped into him.  
"Hm..." Lys looked over her shoulder. "There doesn't seem to be a big crowd down that hallway..."  
"It goes through the section on Japanese history," Reia said, peering over Lys' shoulder to look at the map. "And it's between us and the art wing."  
"Ahh, kewl! Then let's go there next!" Lys stuffed the map back into her purse. "You guys coming?"  
Reia opened her mouth to respond, but Cye took hold of her arm again.  
"...We'll catch up," She said, smiling slightly at Kasukio, who nodded with understanding.  
"OK, well... don't get lost," Lys said with a perky grin. "Come on, Kasu-chan." The couple turned to head down the new hallway. Lys was hugging Kasukio's arm, looking happy as a clam.  
Reia and Cye dropped down onto the bench that Lys had left unoccupied.  
"..My feet hurt," Reia complained, after a pause. "These shoes are not meant for walking."  
"I don't know why women put themselves through that kind of stress," Cye said mildly, as he looked her up and down again.   
"For YOU people," Reia answered, punching him on the arm as she crossed her legs. "Men put this all on us."  
"Well if the results weren't so good looking..."  
"Oh, stop it!" Reia folded her hands on her lap and stared down at them. "Sorry I'm not exactly suave or anything... this is my first d...date. If you even want to call it that."  
Cye didn't say anything, but he did reach down to take her hand, and smile at her.   
She blushed a little brighter.  
  
"Isn't this a pretty mural?" Lys breathed, stepping back to admire the mentioned painting.  
"Yeah... it's gorgeous," Kasukio replied, as she spun around to face him (probably to make sure he was listening to her). Her long silver braid swirled around her, before settling down over her shoulder. Small wisps of hair fell loose around her bright eyes, a gold contrast to the silver of her hair. She smiled at him, showing off white teeth.  
"How come it can't be like this at home?" She asked, her smile drooping.  
"...I don't know," Kasukio replied, shaking his head. "Time... has that way with things, I guess."  
"It isn't fair!" Lys cried. "How could people do it to their world? Trash it like they did in our time? Why do we even bother to fight the Dynasty?! What are we protecting?!"  
"Lys, keep your voice down," Kasukio muttered, looking around. No other visitors had come down the hallway. They were alone.  
"I can understand... why Sage and Rowen and the others would want to fight, but..." She closed her eyes, as tears traced down her cheeks. "How come we're fighting for a world that's already dead?"  
"Lys..." Kasukio placed his hands on her shoulders, catching her bright copper eyes with his own deep green ones. "You know why..."  
"I thought I did," She said, turning away. "Being here, has made me realize what things should be like... and I don't know if the six of us are enough to change it."  
"You don't sound like the girl I love!" Kasukio snapped. "What's gotten into you, Lys?!"  
She whirled around again to face him. "I never realized before how much I don't have, that's what! And I never realized how much I do have! This has been a very difficult time for us, Kasukio! My best friend nearly died! And... and... it made me wonder..." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "What would happen if... if something happened to you?"  
"Lys..."  
"I guess... that's what I'm really upset about. It's got nothing to do with our worlds, Kasukio... It was being with you today... in a totally casual setting... you know, there's no such thing as a casual setting back home, because we're in danger 24/7... but today... I realized how much I really stand to lose." She covered her mouth, clearly trying to keep from crying. "And......did you just say you love me?!"  
"Lysithea, listen," Kasukio grabbed her shoulders again, and pushed her against a glass display case. "You're just scared now. I'm scared. We're all scared. But I know you're stronger... we're stronger... than that. We'll get through this. We could use our powers to change the world, don't you see?"  
Lys stared up at him, shaking slightly.  
"I'd take on the whole Dynasty alone, if I had to. But I don't get that strength from any grandiose or heroic ideas about saving the world." Kasukio pressed his palm against her cheek, wiping away a tear. She smiled. "There... that's the smile. That's where our strength comes from, Lys."  
She shook her head, and laughed. "Since... since when were you this articulate?"  
"I'm full of surprises," He replied with a little shrug, as he bent down to kiss her. Lys' arms came up, to encircled his neck...  
Suddenly, shouting and screaming echoed off the wide hallway walls of the museum. Both jumped in surprise, as the crowds of visitors stampeded past them, cramming towards the emergency exits.  
"...What the..." Lys whispered, as the wall nearest them exploded.  
"Ahhhh!" Both were thrown, but they managed to land without hurting themselves.  
A spear landed in the ground between them.  
"#$%^!!" Kasukio shouted, as he jumped to his feet.  
"You jerks have NO sense of timing!" Lys screamed at the dark Dynasty soldiers who began to pour in from all entrances they could see, including the new hole in the wall.  
"There's no room to fight here!" Kasukio cried as his and Lys' breathing room became smaller and smaller. The couple backed up against each other, surrounded on all sides by the soldiers.  
"We'll have to make room! What about Reia and Cye?!"   
"I'm pretty sure they're as busy as us right now..."  
  
"Why the rush for the exits?" Reia cried, as she and Cye edged against the wall to avoid being trampled by the frightened museum visitors.   
Then, they were alone. For the time space of about three breaths.  
"I'll give you three guesses, but you'll only need one," Cye hissed, then jumped back, crying out. An arrow hit the floor where he'd been standing. An eye blink later, spears, armor, and swords were glinting in the light as soldiers began to appear.  
"It figures! You can't attack us when we're sitting at home bored out of our skulls, but you can ruin a perfectly good date!" Reia intended her comment to be a grumble to herself, but she found herself shouting.  
She jumped backwards, and cartwheeled to avoid a series of arrows from the archers at the edge of the pack of soldiers. On a gamble, she slipped off one of her shoes and hurled it at the nearest attacker with al her strength, grinning as the front of its face caved in and it fell.  
"I found a use for these things!" She shouted as she ducked a spear thrust and returned with a kick.  
"What a woman," Cye muttered, as he dove headfirst into the throng, while replacing his clothing with his subarmor at the same time.  
"I hope Lys and Kasukio are OK," Reia gasped as she dared a glance around the now very crowded hallway. There seemed to be soldiers everywhere! "OK, let's do it!... Dao Inochi!!"  
Now in her subarmor, Reia launched herself at the army...  
  
"No matter how many we smash, they keep coming!" Lys cried as she pushed three incapacitated soldiers off of her, knocking over another two in the process.  
"Hey, Arcane! Why don't you face us yourself, instead of bogging us down with all these tin cans?" Kasukio shouted.  
Above their heads, the ceiling exploded, leaving a gaping hole in the second floor.  
"Oh..." Lys raised her arm over her head to block the falling rocks.  
"Lys! Going up?" Kasukio threw an opponent out of his way to get near her.  
"Excellent idea!"  
Hand in hand, the two made a leap for the hole. Kasukio caught the edge with one hand. The pair dangled there precariously, by his one hand, and Lys clinging to the other.  
"Drop me, pull yourself up!" Lys shouted.  
"Right on top of all those soldiers' spears? No way!" Kasukio grunted.  
"There's no way you can pull us both up with one hand!"  
"I have to!"  
~ Kasu-chan... ~ Lys closed her eyes, feeling his weariness running through her as if it were her own. ~ I... I want to help you... Please... Armor of Halo... this would be an awfully stupid way for us to die...~  
"...Lys?!"   
Pale green, glittering light spread from Lys' arm, up Kasukio's where their hands were joined. It continued to spread, growing brighter as it covered them both.  
"What's going on?" He asked, looking down at her, but her eyes were closed in concentration, and she couldn't hear him.  
...Or could she?  
"Pull us up!" She exclaimed, when the light died.  
"...Strange... it's almost as if we don't weigh anything at all... how'd you do that?" He asked, as he hauled himself over the ledge, then brought her up.  
"...I don't know. Magic, I guess..." She shrugged, and pushed a strand of hair away from her eyes.  
"How do ya like that, huh?" Kasukio called down at the soldiers, who were now milling around, looking for the stairs.  
"We won't have a lot of time to breathe," Lys murmured. "I hope Reia and Cye are faring better..."  
  
" ...Is there no END to this?" Reia shouted.  
"Where are all these guys coming from?" Cye wondered aloud. He looked up, and to his chagrin, he and Reia had been forced to opposite ends of the hall. "Reia! They're trying to separate us!"  
She was tiring, and had no time to respond to Cye's warning. ~ He's right, though... this isn't good, what are they up to? ~ Fear gripped at her throat for a moment. ~ Oh, no... what if... Persephone and Kaori came back? Are they behind this? ~  
Cye's thoughts were running along the same time. "Well, if you are here, Kaori, you won't catch me unarmed again!" He called aloud. "...ARMOR OF TORRENT...DAO SHIN!!!"  
"Yeah, Persephone, come out and face me, woman to woman!" Reia shouted. "...ARMOR OF STRATA...DAO INOCHI!!!"  
Moments later, the dozens of soldiers between the two were all fallen, pierced with arrows or torn apart by Cye's spear.  
"...What, that's it?" Reia asked, as she stepped over the metallic bodies to meet Cye. "They've just... stopped coming."  
"I don't know why they'd give up such a relentless attack so quickly," He mumbled, poking at a fallen soldier with his trident. "...Unless..."  
"...It was a diversion..." Reia gasped. "...Oh, no... they're after Kasukio and Lys! We have to find them!"  
  
"...I don't get it." Lys mumbled, as she paced about the large hole in the second floor. "How come those goons haven't come up here after us yet?"  
"I don't know... Arcane sure is fond of mind games," Kasukio replied, as he cracked his knuckles.  
"Well, then... I apologize for the delay," A deep voice said, softly.  
"Where?" Both Ronin Warriors looked about, but they didn't see anyone to accompany the voice.  
"Right here..." The voice whispered. Quite suddenly, on the opposite side of the hole from where Kasukio and Lys were standing, two men appeared.  
One was tall, garbed in jet black armor. A long blond braid trailed down his back. The man standing behind him was... huge. Too big to be human. His armor was dark blue, almost as dark as the blond man's armor.  
"Trox... you can go now. I feel almost guilty... she doesn't even look like she'd be a warm up for you," The blond said, quietly, motioning at Lys.  
"Hold on, now..." Kasukio began to shout angrily, but then the large man... Trox... moved.  
How a guy that big could move so fast, he had no clue. Neither did Lys. He slammed into her so hard, it threw them back... and right out a large plait glass window.  
"LYS!" Kasukio screamed, as he moved towards the shattered window Trox had knocked himself and Lys out of.  
"Ah, ah, ah, Wildfire!" The blond man leaped across the hole, landing in his path. A kitana came up, leveled at the boy's throat. "Trox was promised the girl by Lord Arcane."  
"Like hell he's getting her! You better get out of my way, man, or I'll run right over you!" Kasukio growled.  
"...If you think you can. You see, my name is Balin. I am the Dark Ronin Warrior of Sin... and you, my friend... are about to die."  
Kasukio balled his hands into fists. "I don't like you very much," He said. "But if it's a fight you want, you've got it! ARMOR OF WILDFIRE... DAO JIN!!" 


	14. Halo, Violated

"Come on!" Reia urged, as she continued up the relentlessly LONG flight of stairs, with Cye at her heels. "Dynasty morons had to break the elevator..."  
"Those soldiers we passed back there looked pretty mangled, Reia. I'd say we're on the right track... Hey, Reia?"  
"What is it, Cye?"  
"DUCK!"   
He grabbed her shoulder and pushed her down on the stairs, just as a jet of fire passed over their heads.  
"Close one," She remarked, wrinkling her nose at the smell of smoke. "I hope that fire wasn't from Kasukio... it'd be just like that hot head to burn down the whole museum..."  
  
"Hm?" Rowen gasped to himself, looking up suddenly from his book.  
"What is it, Rowen?" Ryo asked, surprised by his friend's sudden movement.  
"...I don't know," He whispered. "...Just a feeling..."  
  
Junichi, who had been dozing slightly, in an armchair, suddenly woke up, at the same moment Sage came padding down the stairs, mumbling to himself. Xanthe fiddled nervously with his trusty Magic Eight Ball, all thoughts of practicing his monologue lost.  
Kento woke up, but said nothing.  
Kawai paced around the room.  
"...A feeling," She whispered at last, looking towards the late afternoon sun in one of the windows. "...Something's coming, you guys..."  
White Blaze paced the floor, no longer interested in the games he'd been engaged in with Yulie. Mia could not concentrate on the computer...  
  
Stars exploded in Lys' brain when she hit the pavement, so hard the force of Trox's body against hers caused the cement to split, shards flying everywhere. Only her sub armor kept her from being killed instantly.  
There was a roaring sound in her ears, and she was only dimly aware of the screaming people on the street. The sun, a dark, sickly orange, was slowly becoming blotted out by clouds.  
~...No...~ She thought, dazedly, as she laid on her back, staring up at the sky. ~...It's happening...~  
"Get up and fight me, you little weakling!" Trox roared. Lys cried out, and barely managed to roll to the side before an incredibly huge battle ax slammed into the ground.  
She nimbly got to her feet, hopping over a nearby mailbox and landing in the street.  
Looking around, she realized the once crowded streets were nearly deserted, and the remaining people were totally disregarding her and Trox, all running away like rabbits.  
The battle ax cut through the air again as she dodged- again, doing a handspring backwards to dodge two more strikes.  
"Stop DODGING, little witch!" The Netherworld man screamed at her, as a shock wave ran along the street, with a low pitched roar. More concrete chunks were uprooted and banged against her, making sparks fly off her sub armor.  
~ No more dodging... you want it, you got it, ~ Lys thought. "All right then!! ARMOR OF HALO... DAO CHI!!!"  
  
"AHH!" Kasukio slammed into the wall, so hard he felt it break behind him, falling to pieces after he landed on the floor. Pieces of mortar clattered across the floor, and fell down several stories to the street below. A cold breeze slid into the hallway the battle was taking place in.  
"Little fool," Balin laughed, watching the boy pull himself to his feet. "None of you have been able to beat a Dark Ronin one on one! What made you think you could defeat the greatest of them all?"  
Balin laughed again as he clacked his swords together, and a stream of blue fire burst forth. Kasukio ducked, throwing himself off balance, and, unfortunately, open for another attack. The well placed blow sent his helmet skittering across the floor in the opposite direction his body flew, and blood trailing from a deep cut on his cheek.  
"Why... you really are just a little boy, aren't you!" Balin gasped. "How amusing!"  
"You are... seriously... pissing me off..." Kasukio moaned as he sat up again. Outside, lightning was crashing in controlled, abnormal patterns, as it had been for quite some time, since the battle had begun. Looking towards the light outside, he sighed. ~ He's too fast... Arcane's goons are too strong for us, one on one... Oh, man, I hope Lys is OK... if anything happens to my little butterfly, I won't be able to stand it-~  
"Let's finish this," Balin stated calmly, brandishing both swords. "Trox has probably already used up that puny girl... and I can't just let him run loose in the mortal realm... not that we're worried about damage, but Arcane likes to keep track of us..."  
"What do you mean, 'used up'?! If anything happened to her, Mister..."  
"You children are far too easily distracted! Spending all your energy worrying about your little girlfriend will only make your death come that much quicker! NOW! Prepare to meet your maker!" Balin threw the two swords, heading for Kasukio's head...  
There was a WHOOSH sound, and a pair of metallic PINGS, as the swords clattered to the ground, inches from their intended mark. Two golden arrows imbedded themselves into the wall, deflected off the swords.  
"...Reia..." He muttered, dazedly.  
"Kasu, get out of the WAY!" Reia cried, diving at her fallen friend and shoving them both to the ground, just as the cry "SUPER WAVE SMASHER!" echoed through the hallway.  
Balin cried out and held his arms out in front of himself, in an attempted block, as the brilliant blue water energy passed over Wildfire and Strata, and slammed into him. The building shook, and more stone came loose from the walls and ceiling.  
"That should take care of him," Cye commented, as he ran to the scene. "Everyone all right?"  
"I'm fine, but what about Lys? We have to find her!" Kasukio exclaimed, as he shook his head from side to side, trying to clear it. "That big guy knocked her out that window..."  
The dust cloud from Cye's attack began to settle... and out of the shadows and the flickering light from half broken bulbs, staggered Balin.  
"...That... was a nasty little trick," He growled. The blond man held his hands out, and the kitanas flew back to him. "...No more games, Wildfire... I will personally separate your head from you neck... and then I'll kill the two of you as well, I don't care what Persephone or Kaori say..."  
"You'll have to fight all thr-" Reia began, as she took an arrow from her quiver, but Kasukio held his hand up.  
"No... Reia, please, go find Lys for me. This is my fight!" The red haired boy stated, in the most solemn, even voice she'd ever head him use.  
"He'll kill you without backup!" She protested.  
"That guy will kill Lys without backup!" He shot back. "Reia, please..."  
She stepped back, and looked over at Cye, then back at Kasukio, and nodded.  
"Cye... will you stay here and help Kasukio?" She asked. He nodded, and she made a sprint for one of the (now many) shattered windows.  
"No you don't!" Balin shouted, as he flung more fiery energy from the swords at her, but he was a moment too late; she was out the window before the fire could touch her.  
  
"AHH!!!" Lys screamed as her body bounced off a wall, and she found herself rolling into the street.  
She coughed, and to her dismay blood fell from her mouth. Her entire body ached, but she kept her grip on her sword, and sat up.  
"Try this on, baby-cakes!" Trox yelled, as he advanced on her again. He raised his ax into the air, laughing insanely as it began to glow with sickly green energy.  
~ Somehow, I doubt I should let him do whatever he's planning on doing...~ Lys thought, as she stood up shakily. Over her head, the clouds parted just enough for a single beam of light to shine down on top of her. Closing her eyes, she held her sword aloft over her head, as the beam of light forming a Halo around her grew brighter, and lightning began to spark in the heavens above...  
"...THUNDER BOLT CUT!!!" Lys commanded all the lightning to gather above her head, and come down to her sword, the perfect conductor, filling her with new strength and power. She lunged towards the warrior who'd been pummeling her a moment ago, mouth open in a silent scream, bright, hot light trailing in her wake.  
Trox seemed frozen in place, and even as the raw, channeled power streaked towards him, Lys found a small smile creeping onto her lips. Surely, this would be the end of one of Arcane's cronies.  
It was almost funny- Lysithea Tai was regarded as one of the most gentle girls around. Her nickname at school was "mouse". Kasukio privately called her his "little butterfly". And yet, here she was... without an ounce of remorse for what was about to be visited upon the Dark Ronin of Ignorance. She wasn't quite sure why... Perhaps she was simply hardened by being a Ronin Warrior... maybe it was because she knew if they didn't destroy the enemy, they themselves would die, and the world- the future- with them. Perhaps she was still angry over the near death of her best friend, at the hands of one of Arcane's warriors.  
But, more than a few instances too late, Lys realized something was wrong. Trox just stood there, smiling. Even as the thunder energy crashed into him, he did not grimace, only laughed. He was pushed back where he stood, but did not waver or even fall.  
"Pretty tasty!" He roared. "I like your pretty little power!"  
"No way!" Lys cried, stepping back in shock. "He... he absorbed my power!!"  
"Check this out now, baby! IGNORANCE'S REFLECTION!"   
Trox swiped the air with his ax, and the lightning zapped to him, turning deep purple magenta. It gathered on the blade, forming into a huge, ax shaped, electric weapon.  
Lys tried to dodge, but apparently Trox had absorbed and taken on all the lightning's qualities- including the incredible speed.  
Every nerve in her body seemed to explode with pain when the purple energy hit her, and she flew a long way, before bouncing and rolling into a parking lot. She probably would have tumbled farther, but she hit a parking meter, hard enough to make the metal pole nearly double over.  
She laid on the ground, unable to move. Her vision swam, and she blacked out, but only for a few moments. Trox wanted her awake for what would happen next.  
"Well, that was a good work out," The huge man said lightly, as he leaned over her, leering down at her battered face. He pulled her helmet off, allowing her long silver braid to tumble out onto the ground. "I don't think I'll kill ya just yet, though..." He picked up the braid, holding it in a hand that was nearly as big as her head. "Such a delicate lil' thing, and a Ronin Warrior... oh yeah... I'm gonna have fun, ripping ya up some more, before I kill you..."  
Lys tried to move, but he was too strong. She just couldn't. Her sword had been knocked away, and was out of reach. Her whirling mind wouldn't stop long enough, and it hurt terribly when she tried to concentrate.  
Trox laid a hand on the breast-plate of her armor, still leering at her. "Ya wanna see another trick, baby?" Black energy gathered at his fingertips, where it touched her armor. "...Dispel...Magic!"  
Lys' eyes grew wide, but no sound came out of her mouth, as she felt her power dribble away. Not into Trox, he wasn't absorbing it... simply banishing it. The armor of Halo dissolved away, leaving her in her sub armor. He grinned evilly, and concentrated, as the spell gained power, her sub armor vanished as well.  
Trox held her down, so easily. He didn't even need magic to deal with the flimsy cloth between him and her. Lys whispered something, perhaps "...No..." but he only laughed, as one hand settled around her neck and began to squeeze, and all she could hear was her pulse roaring in her ears and the sound of tearing cloth...  
  
Reia's feet hit the pavement, and she began running. There was no sign of Lys, or her attacker, anywhere.  
"Lys?"   
The street was eerily empty, like a ghost town. But then, something caught her attention. A ways down the street, around the corner, there were sporadic bursts of energy, but even as she began to move towards them, they ceased. The air was still, and too quiet.  
"Something's wrong... LYS!" Reia took off running, nocking an arrow and setting two extras in her teeth, just in case, even as she ran.  
As she skittered around the corner, the site she found was certainly not the one she expected. Reia screeched to a halt, her mouth hanging open in sheer horror. The extra arrows she'd placed into her mouth fell and clattered against Lys' forgotten Halo sword, laying on the pavement, but she paid the weapons no heed.  
A dome of dark purple lightning had surrounded them, but Reia could see, far too clearly, what the evil man was doing to Lysithea, her dearest friend in all the world.  
Tears came suddenly to Reia's eyes, spilling over as panic and pain welled up in her.  
"...Stop..." She whispered. "STOOOOOOP!!!!!!!"  
Reia's bow came up, without thinking, only with feeling. Pain, horror, and most of all deep, venomous, flame hot anger and hatred for the creature...  
"ARMOR OF STRATA!! ARROW SHOCK WAVE!!!!!!" Reia screamed, as loud as she could make her lungs go. "BURN IN HADES, YOU PIECE OF NETHERWORLD FILTH!!!"  
Trox looked up, surprised in the heat of his lust, as Reia's powerful arrow shattered his energy shield. It exploded, throwing the huge man back onto the pavement.  
Reia was not going to give him a chance to recover, or even to put his armor back on. She nocked another arrow, vowing aloud, "I'LL KILL YOU!!!" 


	15. Strata, Enraged

~ He's better than I thought, ~ Balin's mind raced, as he found himself tiring, knowing Kasukio would corner him any moment. Cye of Torrent hung back, observing the battle nervously. The Wildfire lad had made him promise not to intervene upon the battle until the last possible moment.  
Suddenly, an image flashed across the Dark Ronin's mind, and he smiled, feeling the energy emitted from the terrible sin Trox was committing in the parking lot outside. And he could feel Reia of Strata's hate and anger...  
"Well, well..." He laughed, closing his eyes. "The moron finally did something right. Even if the Strata girl will likely kill him now, because he was too stupid to spirit the Halo girl away, and took her right in the street... the fool..."  
"What?" Kasukio hissed, as he faltered in mid sword-thrust. "What did you say?"  
"Oh, my, was that out loud?" Balin's handsome lips twisted into a devious smile. "So sorry."  
Kasukio stood still, his green eyes wide with surprise. Balin took the hesitation, deciding it was time to kill the boy...  
However, when he lunged forward, he found himself practically bouncing off a wall of scorching, intense heat.  
Cye stepped back from the heat, knowing his armor wouldn't protect him as well as Kasukio's or maybe even Balin's would.  
Kasukio did not rant, or make threats. He merely raised his swords over his head, and eerily calm, whispered the words "Flare Up Now."  
Cye reflexively covered his fast at the sudden explosion of white light and heat.   
Throughout the entire museum, windows shattered, walls collapsed, and things caught on fire. The building shuddered, and Cye found himself thrown to the floor. He somehow managed to gather his wits and follow Kasukio out the window through the burning light and smoke.  
The two hit the pavement, and looked back at the building. Cye blinked, still dazed.  
"Well... did you get him?" He asked.  
Kasukio shrugged. "Who cares... I just want to find Lys..."  
The boy in red took off at a sprint down the street. Cye shook his head, and followed after at the same pace.  
They followed the destruction, knowing they would find Lys- or Reia- eventually.  
Suddenly, the sound of someone screaming hit their ears, and both young men skidded to a stop.  
"...That sounded like Reia!" Cye gasped. "...She may be in trouble!"  
Kasukio held his hand up, listening to the screaming again. It didn't sound like cries or pain or fear...  
"...She sounds really pissed off, actually," He muttered, glancing at Cye. The two stood there for a moment before taking off again, running even harder than before.  
  
Lady Kayura paused in her writing, quill in mid stroke. Ink dripped off of it, creating a tiny blot on the parchment scroll.  
She looked up, and stood, pushing her chair away from the table in the small library of the Koji estate.  
"...Reia?" She whispered, just as a rumbling sound passed through the room. She gasped. ~ No! ~  
Kayura's instincts took over, and she ducked, just as a sword swiped where her head had been only an eye blink before. A couple of strands of black hair floated to the ground, belying how close a mark it had been. Moving only with well polished warrior instincts, Kayura rolled on the ground, kicking the chair she had been sitting in towards her still unseen foe.  
He had apparently not expected this. Her attacker grunted in surprised, and staggered long enough for Kayura to roll away and get to her feet. With the nimbleness and speed of a cat, Kayura was on the opposite end of the room, and fully armored. The rings on her staff jangled and a huge sickle swung on a chain at her belt.  
The warrior threw his cloak off in frustration, and glared at Kayura through wild red-blond bangs with dark, guileful green eyes. The lamp light glowed against his deep gold armor. "Greetings... Lady Kayura." He said in a low voice, as he licked his lips.  
Kayura stared at him with narrowed eyes. "...You are... the Dark Warrior of Treachery..."  
He smirked. "You're pretty quick. Yeah, but you can call me Fiian, since I'm makin' free use of your name, Kayura."  
Kayura glared at him. "Leave this place or die, minion of the Dynasty."  
"Wa-ho, the chick's making threats!" Fiian laughed, and twirled his sword in his hand. "None of you guys have been able to beat any of us Dark Ronins one on one yet. Even as we speak Ronin Warriors are getting the tar kicked out of them in the city." He laughed again, and continued to show off his sword tricks. "Isn't one of them Reia of Strata?"  
"Leave her out of this," Kayura growled, although on the inside she was growing more worried for not only her daughter, but for all of the young Ronins.  
"Anyhoo... You'll be happy to know I'm not here to kill ya. Lord Arcane wants me to bring you back to him, in one piece. He didn't say you had to be in good condition, however." He whirled suddenly, and with one strike, sliced the table she'd been sitting at clean in half. "Shall we fight?"  
  
The entire house trembled suddenly, making everyone within it jump.  
"What was that?" Xanthe exclaimed. He dropped his Magic Eight Ball, and it rolled under the couch.  
Kento paused in mid sandwich bite. Junichi and Sage's eyes flew to the stairs, for some reason. Ryo and Rowen came out of the kitchen, alarm apparent on their faces.  
Kawai winced, as a sharp pain ran through her body. "...They're here... the Dynasty!"  
  
Reia kept coming at Trox with a feral strength. Her eyes, rather than their tranquil sky color, had turned dark and deadly, taking on an almost reddish tone.  
Although the Dark Ronin was fighting back, she was clearly overpowering him. She fired a never ending stream of arrows, and too many of them were beginning to nick him and leave flesh wounds. When too close for arrows, she fought hand-to-hand, viscously, clearly intent on no mercy.  
A roundhouse kick to the jaw, with all of her body weight behind it, finally sent him to the floor.  
Reia leveled an arrow directly between his eyes. There was no way she could miss.  
Trox laid on the ground, battered and bloody, and stared up at the girl with smoldering rage in his eyes... and only barely suppressed fear. He was a berserkor... his battle rage was supposed to be more powerful than any being's. And yet, here he was, cornered by some teenage FEMALE upstart.  
"...Have you got any last words before you die?" Reia asked, her voice as cold as an arctic wind, and the muscle-bound Netherworld warrior actually shuddered.  
"You can't do it," He growled under his breath, making eye contact with her.  
"...Watch me..."  
"You're the Ronin of Life-Force, ain't ya? Bet you never killed nobody ever in your life, 'cept maybe those animated Dynasty soldiers, but they don't count, right?" Trox smiled, but it was a hate-filled smile. "You don't got the courage to kill me, baby-doll."  
Laughing, he stood up, still shaking, from his wounds. Reia's initial rage was wearing off. She would be weak now.  
"And now I'm gonna do you the way I did your fr-"  
*THWIP*  
Reia's mouth was hanging open in surprise... but not as widely as Trox's when he looked down at the gold arrow, buried all the way to the feather, in his chest. He raised a shaking hand to the white feather, and the deep red-black blood spreading over it. He looked back at her, and fell to the ground with a small gurgle.  
Reia's bow clattered to the ground, and she fell to her knees, shaking too hard to stand. "Oh... Oh, God..." She moaned to herself, as her head began to throb, and tears began to flow again from her sore eyes. She pulled her helmet from her head and tossed it aside, holding her head in both hands as she felt her stomach pitch suddenly, and she vomited onto the pavement. "...Lys... I...I avenged you..."  
"R...Rei-chan..." A tiny, meek voice reached her ears, and she sat up suddenly, her head whipping around. Lys' battered form was moving, slightly.  
"LYS-CHAN!" Reia jumped to her feet, banishing her armor and subarmor even as she moved towards her friend. The jagged, broken pavement cut her bare feet, for she'd lost her shoes back in the museum. She now had a run in her stockings as well, but of course that meant nothing to her.  
Lys' hair had come free from her braid, and upon inspection, Reia realized the end of Lys' braid had been chopped off. Her friend's hair was now about as long as her own, about waist length, as opposed to its former knee-length. Reia cast a look over her shoulder at Trox's still body in utter disgust and the blackest contempt. ~ That slime bag took a trophy off of her?... I'll go search him, and get it back... later. After I've helped Lys. ~ She cupped her best friend's face in her hands, feeling her pulse with her fingertips. It was weak, but steady. ~ Hang in there, girlfriend... You took care of me, when I was injured... so I'm gonna take care of you...~  
"...Rei-chan..."  
"Don't try to talk now," Reia murmured, trying not to get hysterical again as she looked over Lys.  
Even if she hadn't witnessed it, it would have been obvious what had happened to her. Her skirt was ripped completely in half, her blouse in shreds. Stockings and underclothes- nearly non existent. Lys' pale, creamy skin was marred with cuts and bruises on all the surfaces Reia could see.  
"...My whole body hurts..." Lys whispered. Her voice was hoarse. "Rei-chan..."  
"I said be quiet, Lys... lay still, OK?" Reia pulled her sweater off over her head, and laid it across her friend's smaller body. She pushed some of the blood and sweat off of Lys' forehead, and wiped it on the black tank top she was left clad in.  
"...Reia, please... he... did he do what I think he did? I... My mind's blocked most of what happened, after he pinned me..."  
Reia swallowed, her eyes swimming with tears, and nodded slowly.  
Lys said nothing, only turned her head away from Reia, biting her lip.  
"I'm sorry," She whispered at last. "...I didn't come fast enough..."  
Lys did not reply, and Reia feared she'd passed out again. Finally, she remarked weakly, "It's not your fault, Reia... Please... help me sit up..."  
"You might have internal injuries..." Reia protested.  
"...I want to sit up," Lys repeated, insistently.  
A sound behind them caused Reia to look over her shoulder again. Terror washed over her at the sight of Trox, on his feet again, and lunging towards them, with the clear intent to rip them limb from limb with his bare hands, shining in his eyes.  
~...And I disarmed! Stupid, STUPID GIRL!!! ~ Reia convulsively threw herself over her friend, clutching Lys' shoulders. ~ Forgive me, Lys! ~  
"FLARE UP NOW!!!"  
A weight came down upon Reia from behind, a cool, living shield against the intense heat of Kasukio's attack.  
~ Cye...~   
Reia held Lys tighter, as Cye's arms held them both tight.  
She opened her eyes to see Trox fall back.  
~ He HAS to be dead by now...~  
Apparently, Kasukio was not going to take that chance. The young future bearer of Wildfire flew at the Dark Ronin of ignorance, one blade aimed to pierce the heart, the other, held aloft, to slice the head from the neck.  
~ He's... he's not making any sound...~ Reia realized, watching him, as if he were in slow motion. ~...He's usually the most vocal of all of us... but now, he's too angry to even rant...~  
She shuddered, despite the high temperature in the air. ~ If Trox stood a chance against me, he hasn't a one against Kasu...~  
But, fate intervened for their nemesis again.  
There was a high pitched metallic clang, as both of Kasukio's swords were deflected off of Balin's black armor.  
Kasukio let out a shriek of rage, and struck again, clearly intent on killing SOMETHING.   
There was a slash sound, and the shriek of metal on metal. Balin staggered backwards, now bearing a huge gash across the front of his armor, melted black metal falling onto the ground and hissing. The end of his blond braid floated to the ground, partially singed.   
"Well. You ARE better than I thought," He whispered, staring down at his severed hair in a sort of awe.  
"I'm gonna kill you, and all your buddies! You can count on that!" The red-head vowed, as he stood ready, both swords pointed out.   
Balin did not laugh, as he would have during their battle in the museum. Was that only minutes ago? At that moment, it seemed like years ago. These Ronin Warriors had transgressed their own power limits... all over the ill treatment of one of their comrades. ~ Interesting. ~  
He snapped his fingers. "Trox, come."  
Kasukio moved forward for another attack, but both men vanished but a burst of light.  
The Ronin Warrior stood there, staring blankly at the empty air that had a moment ago been filled by a pair of enemies he was VERY interested in killing.  
Cye moved back, away from the girls. "...Are you OK?" He asked softly, his hands not moving from Reia's shoulders. Even though he was in his armor, Reia could still imagine the feeling of his warm hands against her bare shoulders...  
~ Cut it out! ~ She reprimanded herself sharply.  
She turned around to face him.   
"...No," She whispered, trying to keep her voice from cracking and failing. "...Cye, that...That man, he..."  
Lys moved, groaning with pain. "...Where's Kasu-chan?" She managed, with cracked lips.  
Cye seemed to notice Lys' condition for the first time. He managed to hold back the gasp of horror, but his eyes grew wide, and he looked utterly stunned.  
"Lys! Hey, Lys?" Kasukio finally turned around, and was walking back towards them. "Hey, you OK? Come on, sit up, you can't be hurt that bad..."  
Reia and Cye looked at each other with wide eyes, both thinking the same thing. ~ He didn't see! ~   
She pulled on Cye's arm, motioning for him to get back. Getting the hint, he helped her up, and they got to their feet, stepping back a pace or two from Lys.  
"...Lys?" Kasukio repeated, as he neared her. His pace slowed considerably. "...Oh, my God..."He dropped to his knees beside her, laying a shaking hand against her cheek. Swallowing hard, he peeled back the sweater Reia had draped across her, and nearly recoiled. "Oh, my God," He repeated.  
  
It only took moments for complete chaos to erupt in Mia's house. As soon as Kawai announced the Dynasty's presence, every window in the house shattered, and flooded with foot soldiers, while Kayura continued her battle against Fiian.  
Within seconds, the Ronin Warriors in the house were armed, but the odds seemed overwhelming.  
"I don't think I've ever seen this many soldiers in one place before!" Kawai gasped as she pulled her sais from a would-be attacker.  
"I have," Kento shot back, as he used his staff to take out five opponents at once.  
"Hey, Ryo-" Rowen called, breathlessly, as he leapt clear of the furniture, letting arrows fly. "Things are getting ugly in here, and real fast..."  
"We gotta get Mia and Yulie out of here!" Sage cried.  
"Quite an obstacle course..." Ryo hissed, his eyes flying to the stairs. A sea of Dynasty soldiers stood between them and the stairs. "Sage, Rowen, Kento... let's clear a path!"  
"Sounds good to me!" Sage replied.  
"Rock n' roll!" Kento yelled, as he threw himself into the throng. 


	16. Fire, Smoke, and Defeat

Lady Kayura grunted in pain as more and more of Fiian's blows began to land, and less and less of hers.   
"Giving it up, Lady?" He smirked as he danced back, the long blade of his sword making almost a screaming sound as he swiped it through the air.  
"Never!"   
No longer concerned with damage to the room- from the sounds coming from outside the room, the entire house was being demolished and there was no time to worry about it- Kayura knocked over a bookshelf, sending the heavy furniture towards her attacker.  
"Getting desperate, are we?" Fiian shouted, moving forward once more, and slicing the obstacle clean in half. "Eat my steel, Lady!"  
Kayura dodged, neatly, and the young warrior stumbled. He'd underestimated her speed, and that gave Kayura the space she needed.  
"QUAKE WITH FEAR!!"   
Fiian was ready to counter before Kayura's attack ever reached him.  
"BURNING BETRAYAL!!!" He held his sword aloft over his head, glowing bright with red energy.  
"...What?" Kayura stepped back, mouth open in surprise, as all of the power from her attack was drawn to the sword. "How?!"  
"Meet your doom in the form of a fireball, Lady Kayura!" Fiian turned the blade in his hands down, so it was pointing at Kayura. He had used his sword to transform Kayura's earth attack into a fire-element counter strike.  
"No!" Kayura's hands shot out, as she called up energy from her mind, attempting to shield from the blast...  
  
"Mia!! Yulie! Where are you guys? Answer me!" Ryo shouted, as he practically plowed through the soldiers in his path, stabbing and shoving them over the banister to fall to the first floor. "MIA!"  
At that moment, the wall between Ryo and the library exploded, and he barely had time to register the fire rushing out at him. It didn't burn him, naturally, but the sheer force of the explosion did throw him back, crashing right through the railing nearby. He just barely managed to catch his hand on the edge of the second floor, before he could fall back down to the first.  
~ Where did that come from?! ~ He thought, as he reached up to stab his sword into the floor and pull himself up.  
"Ryo!"  
"Mia?" He had to squint, to catch a glimpse of her face through the fire and smoke that was quickly spreading over the second level of the mansion. She had made it out of her study in time, but now the floor before her was being eaten away by flames. The young woman was frozen in place, clutching Yulie's arm with one hand and her laptop with the other.  
"Stay there! I'll come and get you!" Ryo yelled, but as he stepped forward he felt the floor shake.  
"Don't, Ryo, it's too dangerous!" Mia cried, stepping back. "I know the fire won't hurt you, but you could fall, or make the whole floor collapse!"  
"Mia!! I'm not gonna leave you!" Ryo shouted. He looked around, desperately. "There has to be another way!"  
"Ryo, I'm scared!" Yulie's thin whine penetrated the dark smoke that was beginning to fill the house.  
Meanwhile, on the first floor, the warriors there remained relatively unharmed by the hordes of attacking soldiers- most of them fell under the steady stream of Rowen's arrows before getting anywhere near the fighters with short range weapons.  
"We have to... get out of here," Xanthe coughed, as the smoke spread throughout the house, beating the flames, but just barely. "This whole place... will come down on top of us."  
"Not if I can help it," Junichi replied. "You guys get out of here... I'll try to fight the fire."  
"It's too big!" Sage protested. "There's no way!"  
"He has to try, though!" Kento snapped. "Come on, the soldiers have quit comin'..."  
"I'm not leaving until I know everyone is all right!" Rowen half shouted, his voice hoarse from the smoke. "Come on, we can fight this thing, Junichi and I... Kento, Xanthe, Sage, Kawai... haul butt!"  
But before any of the males could stop her, Kawai bolted deeper into the house, away from the large, broken windows and the busted down doors the enemies had entered through. She ignored the calls of her male companions to come back, and soon the roaring of the flames were such that she couldn't hear them anyway.  
~ I have to see to it that everyone gets out... I have to! I won't see anyone I care about die this way... not again. ~   
Even through her armor's protections, the smoke was making it hard to breathe, and the heat was suffocating...  
  
"Reia," Cye whispered in her ear, causing the blue haired girl to break away from her transfixed, pain stare at her ravaged friend. "...There's a department store, across the street and down the block a little ways... we ought to go get something to cover Lys with... she shouldn't stay like that."  
"H...Hai," Reia murmured, allowing Cye to lead her away by the hand. By now, Lys and Kasukio didn't even know they were there. The red haired boy was bent over Lys protectively, trembling with barely suppressed fury and pain, but making no sound as Lys recounted her story to him in a shaking, cracked voice.  
Reia didn't even notice how the broken chunks of concrete from the demolished street cut at her shoeless feet, or how the now downright chilling breeze cut through her tank top like a knife. Cye wisely remained silent as he led her across the empty street, away from the parking lot.  
It didn't take long to reach the large store. The automatic doors still worked, and they slid open as the couple approached them.  
"...Everyone's... gone," Cye whispered, as they stepped in, looking around. He knew his statement was true, but, nevertheless, he raised his voice for an experimental call of "Hello? Is anyone here?"  
Reia didn't say anything, but walked into the store, looking for something Lys could wear.  
"We need... like a coat or something," She said quietly.  
"Maybe a sweater?" Cye asked.  
Reia shook her head. "Something she can slip on."  
"Trench coat?" Cye walked to a nearby sign with a store directory posted on it. "...This way." He pointed down one aisle of the store.  
"I guess... price isn't an issue," Reia said quietly, shaking her head. "Everyone really is gone. We're the only people left in the city."  
"It's just like when Talpa first invaded," Cye replied, with a solemn nod.  
"It looks almost like Arcane is imitating Talpa," Reia pointed out. "But... I'm afraid... Arcane may have the power to succeed where Talpa didn't."  
Cye didn't reply, only continued to go forward.  
On their way to the outerwear section of the store, they passed through a small display of bridal wear.  
Reia paused at a glass display case, full of happy looking mannequins in full-length white wedding gowns. Another case nearby showcased mannequins in tuxedos of various makes and styles. She closed her eyes, and a memory came to her of three girls, all 12 or 13, sitting on one girl's bed, looking at an old catalog.  
"Well if you won't tell me yours, I'll tell you my dream, Reia... my dream is to someday walk down the aisle, in a dress just like this," The thirteen year old with silver pigtails giggled, as she whispered.  
"Why would you want to wear something so frilly and doofy looking?" Reia whispered, hearing her twelve-year-old voice in her mind, remembering how she shook her head with disgust at the idea, her then shoulder length hair swishing against her shoulders.  
"Because, silly, that's the whole point," The other twelve year old sighed and shrugged, her red ponytail bobbing with the movement, and sipped at the diet soda in her hand. "Weddings are like, the most romantic thing ever."  
"My dream is to walk down the aisle," Lys had repeated. "I'm going to marry the boy of my dreams..."  
"Who, my dorky cousin?!" Red-headed Kawai squealed.  
"Kasu-chan isn't dorky! And I'm gonna marry him someday, I'll walk down that aisle on my daddy's arm as a lovely virgin bride in a white gown, you'll see!" Lys cried.  
Reia stared at the wedding gowns, the sappily happy, grinning mugs of the mannequins, and her best friend's words of four years ago echoed in her mind.  
Cye, meanwhile, had made it all the way to the coats before realizing he'd lost Reia somewhere. He backtracked, carrying a few candidates in his arms, to find Reia, and see what her opinion was on them.  
Just as he caught sight of her, staring at the wedding dresses, Reia let out a shriek that seemed nigh inhuman. The blue haired girl screamed incoherently as she drove her fist through the glass display in one punch.  
"Reia!" Cye gasped, dropping the coats and running towards her.  
Broken glass flew, slicing at her as she continued to hit the display case, intent on breaking all the glass she could, ignoring the pain.  
"Too little-" She hissed, as she kicked the nearest mannequin, knocking it's head off. The head and the veil flew to the floor, bouncing on the carpet of broken glass. "Too slow!" Reia grabbed the arm of the nearest mannequin and hurled it blindly from the case, ignoring the crash it made when it knocked over several racks of clothing. "TOO LATE!!!" She moved to punch the mirror behind the mannequins, but Cye finally caught up to her.  
"REIA! STOP!!" Cye shouted, grabbing her from behind with all his strength, pinning her arms to her sides. She thrashed against him, still trying to kick the remaining items in the case. "Please, you're going to HURT YOURSELF!" The auburn haired boy in blue and white sub armor threw his weight against the slender girl to yank her out of the case, and nearly throw her to the floor (away from the broken glass, which was no small feat, considering Reia had scattered it about pretty thoroughly). Cye pushed her against the floor, pinning her with his own weight. "Reia! REIA!"  
She gasped, and gave one more token struggle, although her eyes regained a sense of focus. She stared up at Cye, her eyes full of pain, breathing heavily.  
"What was that all about?" Cye whispered, his eyes wide with concern and fear for her.  
"It's my fault... It's all my fault," Reia whispered back, tears washing away the small spots of blood on her cheeks.  
"Reia..." Cye slowly released his grip on her wrists, and tried to ignore the blood from her glass cuts on his hands. "What on Earth are you talking about?"  
"What good am I to anyone... what good is my power?! I can't save anybody, only kill! I... I could've killed that monster Trox, but I didn't, and... and I couldn't save my best friend, one of the most important people to me in the whole world!!" She was coming out of her hysterics, now, and she winced with pain.  
"Well slicing your arms up by punching a display case isn't exactly the way to go about improving yourself," Cye remarked, not without a touch of sarcasm. "Reia, you know what happened to Lys isn't your fault!"  
"But it is..."  
He shook his head, and pressed two fingers against her lips to silence her. "Reia. It's me. Would I lie to you?" By now, the sarcasm had left his voice, and it had taken on a tone of utter sincerity. "Listen to me, girl... All of us undertake harsh risks every time we put that armor on... We're all prepared to deal with the pain that comes... I'm certain Lys is no different..."  
"How can you just write it off like that?!" Reia gasped. Her hand came up, to slap him, but it paused in mid-air. She looked at her own hand, still blood-streaked, her mouth open and eyes wide with horror.  
"I'm not writing it off, far from it! I'm just trying to tell you that I know how much Lys loves you, and I know she'll never blame you for this! So, don't you go blaming yourself, either! You have GOT to be strong for her, understand? You. Have. To!" Cye grabbed her chin, to make sure she didn't look away from him as he spoke, keeping his voice soft, but packing much power behind it. Shouting now would do no good, only more harm. "It will be very painful for a little while... for both of you, in different ways." He flinched, remembering the nights not so long ago when he would wake up screaming from the dreams about things that happened to him when the Dynasty had him prisoner.  
How Sage couldn't bear to even leave the house for several weeks, after the wind from the final battle and the ensuing baseball game wore off.  
How Kento cried... big, strong Kento, cried-actually cried!-in his sleep...  
Cye shook his head, dismissing the painful memories. Many of them were firmly behind some kind of shield that the five of them used their armor powers to create. Cye and his fellow captives could only remember a few things about their imprisonment now, but... he still remembered the painful recovery.  
Reia stared at his eyes, as if she could sense the emotion and meaning behind his words... Perhaps she could. In any case, she sniffled, and nodded, slowly. "I just... don't know if I can do it."  
"I'll help you," He replied, and kissed her gently on the forehead.  
She looked down, at the forgotten coat, tossed on the floor a few feet away. "That'll work fine for Lys... come on... let's bring it to her."  
  
The fire spread through the house at an insanely fast pace. Before Kawai could make it from the living room, through the kitchen to the stairs, everything was awash in a blazing, hot orange light.  
She looked up, squinting against the glare and the smoke, trying to make anyone out on the second floor. She spotted Ryo, who was desperately trying to find a way to retrieve Mia and Yulie without getting them hurt.  
~ The Wildfire armor protects him from the flames, but it gets so hot that no one can get near him! ~ That was one of the first lessons Kawai had ever learned.  
"Ryo!! Please, don't worry about me, just save Yulie!" Mia cried.  
"I'm not leaving without either of you, there's got to be a way!!" Ryo shouted back. He sounded like he would become hysterical soon.  
Kawai gasped, as the flames seemed to spring to life all around her, under her feet, over her head... the fire seemed to take on a sentient quality, as at came for her... just for her...  
~...Flames...fire...smoke... No, please! Not again!!! ~ "MAMA!!!" She screamed, but her voice was lost in the roaring of the fire. ~ Mama and... my little brother... Daddy died fighting that one fire when Tetsuro was just born...~ She doubled over, coughing from the smoke. ~ I have to protect Mama and Tetsuro... I have to! I'll be all alone if they die! ~  
She screamed again, as the flames pressed closer around her, heating her armor and burning her. "NO!" Kawai was moving then, by her armor's power alone, it seemed. The fire tried to snatch at her as she leaped towards the second level, her teeth gritted in determination and her hands outstretched. Through the flames, she could see Mia and Yulie-only, to her eyes, it was a woman in her thirties, with long, straight red hair, clutching a young boy with wavey brown hair.  
"Please, Armor of Eros!! Give me the strength so I can save them!!" She cried. "CUPID'S WING!!!"  
A fiery, burning pain raged through Kawai's body, and she wondered distantly if she'd fallen into the fire. Her vision swam and she nearly blacked out, as the world seemed to pitch upside down and turn around. She clutched at her head, feeling her heartbeat pounding in it, each beat like the blow of a sledgehammer.  
And then, all of a sudden, she hit the second floor, at Mia and Yulie's feet. She rolled a little ways and hit a wall, and that seemed to snap her out of her delusions.  
"Kawai!" Mia shouted.  
Without wasting any time, Kawai gestured with her hands, as a ball of pink energy spread to them. "Teleportation!" She commanded, shooting the energy towards the helpless duo. In a flash of pink light, they were gone.  
"Kawai?" Ryo called.  
"I teleported them out, Ryo! Now we have to escape!"  
It was at that moment the floor underneath their feet finally collapsed. Ryo let out a cry of surprise as he tumbled into the flames below. Kawai just barely managed to teleport herself away from the certain death.  
However, she soon discovered she didn't have the strength to get herself all the way outside, and ended up collapsed in the middle of the living room, with the flames very close at her heels.  
"Kawai!!"  
A figure in light blue armor that shone an eerie shade of green in the fire's light leaped through the flames blocking the doorway. "Kawai!"  
Junichi knelt beside the unconscious girl. ~ Thank God, she's alive...~ He easily picked her up, and then raised his trident. The fire had raged too far, too fast, and had an air of magic around it... he knew that despite their best efforts, they wouldn't be able to put this out.  
~ But, I have to at least try to get out, ~ He thought, as he pointed the head of the spear at the flames blocking their escape. "SUPER WAVE-"  
"It won't do you any good, silly Ronin," A voice taunted.  
"Who's there?" Junichi shouted, then ended up coughing. The smoke was getting to him now.  
"Tis I, Fiian, of course..." The voice laughed, as a man materialized before Junichi. Slung over his shoulder, unconscious, and wrapped in her own chains, was Lady Kayura.  
"Lady Kayura!"   
"Where, I can't find her!" Rowen's voice came from off to the side, and the warrior in darker blue appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.  
"You guys are probably clever enough to escape this inferno," Fiian laughed, "But there's no way you'll ever put it out until it's satisfied it's hunger. Ta-ta, dear boys, I'm sure we'll be seeing you at Arcane's table very shortly!"  
"Kayura!!" Rowen yelled, and tried to move towards Fiian, but at that moment a large section of the ceiling fell, landing with a deafening crash and a great roar of newly bred flames that swallowed up the laughing Dark Ronin and his prize.  
In a burst of water and wind, Rowen and Junichi broke through (what used to be) a wall, limping to safety on the cool grass away from the house.  
Xanthe, Kento, and Sage were busy keeping the fire from spreading to the trees, and Ryo was seen running from the other end of the house. Mia sat beside Yulie, who laid unconscious on the ground, staring at her burning house with blank eyes. Junichi laid Kawai beside them before sinking to his knees in defeat himself. Rowen joined the effort in keeping the fire from spreading to the forest, doing his best to keep any wind from blowing.  
With a sickening groan and a final roar of the flames, the entire house collapsed on itself. Mia shrieked and covered her eyes, just as Ryo reached her, abandoning his armor as he ran so as not to burn anyone.  
"Mia..." He began, but paused, uncertain what to say or do.  
"My Grandfather's house!!" Mia cried, burying her face in her hands. "My family's legacy!! Everything we had was in there!"  
"...Mia..." Ryo whispered, deciding that words weren't the best thing right now, as he folded his arms around her, silently.  
The sky above unleashed a torrent of rain, and the flames finally died in an unceremonious hiss. Soon, only steam and smoke came from a pile of black rubble.  
The entire group was sprawled or seated on the grass, several yards away, everyone at a loss for words. All was silent but for the hiss and occasional pop from what used to be the house, and Mia's nigh hysterical sobbing.  
Finally, Rowen spoke.  
"Well... guess we'd better...go get a hotel or something." 


	17. Refugees Reunited

"This is... creepy, Cye. I've never seen a big place like this totally void of life..." Reia shivered as Cye lent her a hand to crawl over a pile of debris.  
"I have," Cye replied simply. "But... you're right, it's still creepy." He glanced up at a stoplight as it switched to green. "At least the power's still running."  
"Which could be good or bad," Reia muttered, as they walked back into the empty parking lot. Kasukio and Lys were right where they'd left them. The boy was still bent over the girl, carefully stroking her hair but not saying anything. He looked up at the sound of Reia and Cye's feet on the pavement approaching them.  
Reia almost stopped short, his eyes looked so, so... dark! The bright emerald green had gone to almost a greenish black, and he regarded the two with a cold distance as they approached.  
"I got her to sleep," He said quietly, his voice flat and emotionless.  
"Here, put this on her," Reia whispered, kneeling beside Lys to lay the coat over her.  
"...Lys told me what happened," Kasukio continued, his voice pitched low so only Reia could hear him. "But...her account was a little choppy. Reia... where the hell were you when this was going on?"  
"Kasu-" Reia exclaimed, but he cut her off as he rose to his feet, his voice gaining volume as he spoke again.  
"I told you to look after her! I TOLD YOU TO PROTECT HER!!! What *HAPPENED*, Reia?" He roared at her now, and stepped menacingly towards her.  
"I got there as fast as I could..."  
"Why didn't you kill him?!" Kasukio raved, "DAMMIT!! Why did it have to be Lys, why not... why not..."  
Reia's face flushed and she felt her emotions welling up inside her again, ready to burst out...  
"Why did it have to be Lys..." The red head glared at Reia, eyes full of contempt. "Why couldn't it have been you..."  
Trembling, Reia stepped back from him again, unsure of how to respond to this.  
Cye, naturally, came to her rescue, interposing himself between her and her angry teammate.  
"What is the MATTER WITH YOU?!!" Cye shouted, all hints of his usual serenity gone from his voice. His entire body was stiff, and he looked perfectly ready to knock the future bearer of Wildfire into next week at any moment. "How can you wish something like that on your friend?!"  
"You stay out of this, it has nothing to do with you," Kasukio snapped. He moved to shove Cye out of the way. The Ronin of Trust easily caught his wrist and held it in a vice-like grip, awarding Kasukio with the blackest of looks. Although Cye was taller than him, he was more muscular, and Reia hated to imagine a fight between the two of them.  
"Do not... make me hurt you," Kasukio whispered in a low, dangerous voice. "If anything... it's you who's distracted Reia from her job."  
"Stop it, stop it NOW!!" Reia screamed, but they ignored her.  
Cye wordlessly twisted Kasukio's arm in his grip, moving lightning quick and pinning him from behind.  
"I realize that you're in pain and you're not thinking clearly right now," The auburn-haired man hissed into Kasukio's ear. "But you are still being a fool. We're not your enemies here, on the contrary, we're all Ronin Warriors. May you fall on your knees when you come to your senses and beg Reia and Lys both their forgiveness for the things you've said just now."  
Cye released him then, but not gently. In fact, he practically threw Kasukio to the ground.  
"I'm going to try to find a pay phone that works and call the others," He said tersely as he turned on his heels and stalked away without looking back.  
  
"Something wrong's going on here," Kento remarked. "How come we're the only ones on the freeway?"  
Sage, who was seated in the front passenger seat of Kento's van, nodded at Kento's words but didn't say anything for a moment. "...It feels bad, doesn't it," He said quietly.  
"You don't suppose something bad happened in the city, do you?" Rowen asked anxiously.  
"You worried about her, Ro?" Sage asked.  
"No! Well, I..." Rowen settled uncomfortably in his seat and turned towards the window at the countryside speeding by. "I'm worried about Cye, too. All of them."  
"Uh huh..." At the mention of his best friend's name, Kento pressed a little harder on the gas.  
"We have no money, and only a vague idea of where the others are in this huge city. Lady Kayura's been captured... those guys are playing with us now... we are so, so, SO screwed," Xanthe muttered.  
"Thank you for the news flash, obvious-man," Junichi grumbled.  
"I'm just glad that Kento's van still works," Ryo spoke up softly. Mia was still in shock and just leaned against him, her head on his shoulder, eyes staring blankly ahead. "We'd have been even more screwed if the fire had gotten it too." His statement started up Mia's sobbing again- on top of everything else she'd lost in the fire, her little jeep had gone up, too. That left a weird sense of loss for Ryo, Sage, Kento, and Rowen as well... that little car had served them well. "Uh... sorry, Mia..."  
"When we find the others, we're going to have a lot to talk about," Rowen sighed.  
  
"Nothing... nothing at all!! Argh!" Cye cried out in frustration as he slammed the pay phone down.  
"Cye! There you are..." Reia called as she ran up to him. "You're hard to track."  
"Sorry... this phone must not be working properly... I can't get a connection to Mia's. I guess I should try to find another one..." Cye moved to walk past Reia, but she caught his hand.  
"Hey... you're shaking, are you OK?" She asked, cocking her head. "Back there... I've never seen you so angry before..."  
"I don't usually get that mad," He replied sheepishly. "I...I just didn't like how he was talking to you. The last thing we need is having him blame everyone else on earth for what happened..." ~ And I couldn't stand to watch the way his accusations were tearing you up inside... couldn't bear to hear him wish that horrible deed on you... but, God, I've REALLY never been that angry... I wanted to hurt him... I... I wanted to kill him. What's going on with me?? ~  
She smiled slightly at him. "Thanks for sticking up for me... This whole thing would've been a lot more difficult without you on my side... so... no luck with the phones, huh?"  
"No." Cye kicked at a stone laying at his feet. "I don't know if it's just this phone or every phone in the city or what..."  
"You don't suppose something...happened back at the house, do you?" Reia asked, as cold dread began to clutch at her throat. The possibility was very, very real, after all...  
But just as the thought passed from her lips, they heard the sound of a car, somewhere down the street.  
"There's someone here after all!" Cye exclaimed.  
"I'm gonna go check it out!"   
"Not without me you're not!!"  
  
"...This is creepy, guys. Look at this place," Kento breathed as the van rolled down the empty street. He eyed the abandoned cars as they passed them. "It's just like..."  
"The first time the Dynasty came. I know," Sage squirmed in his seat, his sensitive nerves feeling squished from all sides by the 'wrongness' in the air around them.  
"You can't even give Arcane points for originality. So far everything he's done has been a giant rip off of Talpa," Xanthe growled.  
"Yeah except we could fight back against Talpa... we haven't won a single encounter against Arcane yet!" Rowen snapped. "He's just toying with us and we could be driving right into a city sized trap!"  
Junichi looked down at Kawai, who was still sleeping, on the floor of the van.  
"Reia and the others could be captured. Or they could be dead. We don't know," He said gravely.  
"Way to be optimistic!" Xanthe shouted.  
"Get REAL, Xanthe!" Junichi shot back. "There is no room for optimism here! Foolish hopes that can only be dashed! I'll have no part in it! All we can do is prepare for the present so we can POSSIBLY live through the future!"  
"Hey one more word and I will turn this van right around..." Kento began, but Sage glared at him and he shut up.  
"Turn there, Kento," Ryo spoke up, pointing to the right at the upcoming intersection. "The museum is that way... we should check there first."  
"Aye aye, cap'n."  
But just as the van whipped around the corner, Kento let out a yelp and slammed on the brakes. The van lurched to a stop... just in time to keep from running down a very surprised looking pair in blue sub-armor.  
"Hey PAL just cuz the city's levelled doesn't mean you don't have to obey speed limits!!!" Reia was shrieking as Kento rolled down the window and poked his head out.  
"Reia! CYE!!!" He exclaimed.  
Reia stopped in mid rant, her mouth hanging open.  
"Kento! Boy am I glad to see you!!" Cye cried, running towards the van.  
~ Reia... she's safe...~ Rowen sighed and dropped his head into his hands. He felt like a tremendous burden had been lifted from his shoulders. ~ I had no reason to worry... they were together, of course they'd be fine...~   
Rowen didn't even realize he was shaking until Sage turned around and reached out to him from the front seat, gently laying his hand on his shoulder.  
"They're OK, Ro," Sage said quietly. "Hey, Rowen... she's all right."  
"I know," Rowen replied, sitting up, quickly regaining his cool composure. "Takes more than a city falling on their heads to take down Ronin Warriors."  
Sage laughed as he opened his door and hopped out. "Aint that the truth."  
  
"Will he live?"   
"Who cares... the animal served his purpose." Balin narrowed his eyes as he turned away from the huge crystal tank where Trox floated, connected to numerous tubes and wires.  
Osa leaned casually against the wall, and Persephone stood silent as usual in the corner. She'd finally appeared from wherever she'd gone to sulk for the past several weeks.  
"He didn't kill either Halo bearer... so how could he have served his purpose?" Persephone asked boredly.  
Balin laughed. "Small minded fool..."  
"Watch your tongue, male," Persephone hissed, literally, a sound like an angry cat.  
"He may not have killed either of them... but he broke the girl." He nodded, and absently ran his hand over the gash in his armor. "He's made me stronger..." Balin licked his lips. "When I come across Wildfire again... I'll teach him what true pain and humiliation is. Trox has nothing on what I can do... nothing at all."  
Osa shuddered, and turned to leave.  
"Osa Terrapir," Balin's deep brass voice seemed to freeze her in her step. "I want to talk to you."  
The red head cursed under her breath as she turned towards him, trying to hide her black mood from her facial features.  
"I shall excuse myself," Persephone muttered, vanishing.  
"What do you want?" The curvaceous mercenary put her hands on her hips and glared at Balin.  
"That boy... the Hardrock lad... the pretty one. I'm interested in him," Balin told her succinctly. Osa's eyebrows arched.  
"Well I always knew you were a sick one, but I didn't know how sick," She replied, boldly.  
Balin smiled wryly at her, almost seeming to take it as a compliment. "You're far more bold than a woman ought to be. Actually, this target of yours... he carries quite an interesting seed in him... I can feel it, even through second-hand contact with him through his comrades. I think I'll be able to draw great power from him."  
"Give me one reason why I should let YOU have him," She replied, green eyes flashing. "Doesn't anyone here have their own targets to stalk, why is everyone interested in MINE?!"  
"Give me a break... you're only here for wealth. You care nothing for glory and power," Balin snapped.  
"Ah, but power and glory go hand in hand with gold, my friend," Osa retorted. "I won't give Xanthe of Hardrock over to you... but... I may be willing to SELL him."  
Balin looked like he wanted to slap her. "We shall see... just don't kill him or damage his looks too badly..."  
"Whatever... if you will excuse me..." With that, she turned on her soft shoes and quickly left the dark chamber of the palace, heading for the gray light of the outside hallways.  
That swaggering cretin, Fiian, blocked her path as she rounded a corner.  
"What do you want?" She sighed.  
"That outfit on the floor by my bed in the morning, for starters," He replied with a grin, as she visibly seethed.  
~ The SAME cheesy pick up line from TWO different men here today alone! No amount of gold is worth this!!! ~  
She rolled her eyes and moved to nudge past him, but he caught her arm.  
"Actually I just thought you may like to see what success looks like," He said in a low voice, a dangerous smile playing on his lips.  
"Is that braggart-code for 'I caught Lady Kayura, ha ha'?"   
"In so many words, yeah. And I hear that the other three did pretty well on their little forays, too..."  
  
Dais unlocked the door to his hotel suite, sighing under his breath as he shooed away the maid that had tailed him from down the hallway.  
~ One nice thing about being a couple thousand years old... you have plenty of time to amass some petty cash, ~ He thought as he switched the light on in the room. ~ The mortal world isn't so bad, when it comes to the five-star accommodations...~  
"It's about time you showed up," A female voice remarked. Dais eyes flew to the bed, where Celtia was lounging, looking like she hadn't a care in the world.  
"And no, your friends didn't buy me for you," She chuckled sarcastically. As she sat up, toying with a strand of her short blond hair.  
Dais tensed, feeling the strength of her aura as she allowed her shields to slip. "You are Arcane's minion." He said, rather than asked.  
She licked her lips and nodded as a black whip appeared in her hands. "Arcane sent me to come get you, so... let's play."  
  
Sehkmet put down his glass and numbly forked over a wrinkled bill to the bartender.  
~ Gotta get sober before I meet up with Dais and Cale again... I don't need them riding me about this, ~ He thought, as the floor seemed to tip a little bit. He made his way outside and slipped into an alley to take a short cut back to where they were staying. Kayura had deemed it unsafe for them to teleport in and out of the Netherworld, with Arcane watching the flows of energy throughout the whole place and probably in the voids between the worlds as well.  
And it wouldn't make much sense to stay in the Netherworld, so, they had all obtained suites at pretty swanky hotels. They were former Warlords, after all! If they were going to be reduced to staying in mortal lodging, it certainly wouldn't be a Motel 6!  
Sehkmet groaned, as the area around him seemed to warp again. ~ This is... so strange... I may not be used to human drinks but I should NOT get intoxicated this easily...~  
~* That's right, you SHOULDN'T. You messed up, snake, messed up in a big way, *~ A telepathic voice sneered.  
"What-" Sehkmet gasped, as he fell into a fighting stance. "Show yourself!"  
"I couldn't put a poison in your drink, of course, because you would know it right off, Warlord of Venom." The same voice, only out loud, this time. "But what I CAN do is manipulate your mind to simulate drunkenness."  
Sehkmet didn't even see his attacker until his face was inches from his own. The green haired warrior let out a gasp as Jicquar's armored fist sank into his stomach.  
"I'm disappointed, Sehkmet. It shouldn't have been this easy for me," Jicquar murmured, his purple eyes flashing.  
  
Cale wandered along the dark, misty docks at the ports in Yokohama. The damp air clung to his clothing and would've chilled an ordinary man, but he didn't bat an eyelash.  
~ I sometimes think a world of darkness wouldn't be a bad thing. The night it so tranquil compared to the hustle and bustle of the day, ~ He thought, as he paused to listen to the lapping water. ~ Then again, the absence of a noisy day turns the tranquillity of the night to an empty, cold silence. ~  
He could already imagine Sage's argument against his view of the daytime.  
"The day is not noisy, it's bright and full of light! It symbolizes everything we're bound to protect!" He would say.  
~ But you still prefer the tranquil night, as I do, don't you Halo? ~   
"I prefer the night, too," A voice behind him said.  
"I don't like having my mind read by people I barely know," Cale said loftily as he turned to face Yormo.  
"The night doesn't remind me of all the things I can't be a part of in the world, as the day does. But the night, the darkness, is my ally. Where those of you who depend on your eyes flounder, I thrive." Yormo did not draw his bow, but stood patiently with it at his side.  
"If you're hoping darkness is going to hamper me, you have a sore lesson coming to you," Cale said smoothly.  
He made a move towards Yormo, but flinched as an arrow grazed his shoulder.   
"...How can he be so fast..."  
"You'll ask that many times before I'm through with you, warrior of Obedience..."  
  
(end flashbacks)  
  
"...I just wonder why the rest of you are having so much trouble," Fiian continued.  
Osa gave him another dirty look. "The rest of us have targets that travel in packs... you'd be amazed how they flock to protect each other. They require much more SKILL to capture than lone targets."  
She aimed the world skill at him like a knife, but it seemed to roll off his back.  
"Skill you apparently don't possess," He replied, turning to walk away.  
Only knowing the usual fate of people like him in battle prevented Osa from chasing after him and knocking him upside the head. Instead, she smiled and turned to walk in the opposite direction.  
  
Reia and Cye recounted the entire story of what had happened to them from the first moment of attack, so as to prepare them for when they went to pick up Kasukio and Lys.  
"We're going to have to find some shelter here in the city," Ryo said quietly. "Because, well..." He absently stroked Mia's hair as she snuggled closer to him, still trembling and silent.  
"He'll find us, no matter where we go," She whispered suddenly, her voice coming out husky. "He's... different, from Talpa... he'll find us, no matter where we hide..."  
"This is bad, you guys," Kento whispered, so Ryo couldn't hear him in the back. "The last person we need to wig out is Mia."  
"We're going to have a lot of people wigging out, one more won't make a difference," Rowen muttered.  
Reia squirmed, hesitating to ask him where Lady Kayura was.  
"We can go to that big hotel we saw back there," Cye said. "It would beat sleeping in the subway."  
"Yeah... oh, man," Kento sighed as he pulled into the parking lot. Kasukio was standing there, waiting for them. He held Lys in his arms, and she slept, the long trench coat and her matted hair swaying in the breeze. As a few of them got out to help them get into the van, he would not look anyone in the eye... 


	18. Despairing, Decision, and a Conversation

~~Author's Note~~  
  
Hey all! Long time no write, ne??? Well, here it is.. the long awaited (well, maybe) chapter of LFLD… it's kind of a short one… I'll try to make 19 a little longer and a little more action packed. The story's getting a little complicated, ne? ;-)  
  
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And time marched on. The beaten down heroes managed to find a building in the city that wasn't falling in on itself- a fairly nice hotel, at that, and pretty far away from where the first attack had been launched. With the electricity still running, it made their surroundings pretty luxurious. There were plenty of grocery stores and restaurants around for them to scrounge food from, so the basic necessities of life were covered. Too bad they were completely exposed and vulnerable to their enemies, and lived in a constant state of alert… no one went out alone, and no one ever took off their sub-armor. Well, those that weren't too damaged to fight any longer, anyway.  
  
"I don't think they have the ability to track our every move. They are clearly stronger than us, so why don't they just go ahead and destroy us?" Sage said, as he sat down in a padded chair in the hotel lobby. The room had been adopted for their place to meet and discuss their situation.  
  
"They are finding us somehow, though," Kento replied. He was sprawled out on a leather couch, with his head hanging off the edge. "Man, I'm so hungry…"  
  
"Maybe they can hear your stomach growling," Sage sighed and slumped in his chair.  
  
"Oh come on," Kento groaned. "Where is everyone, anyway?"  
  
"Um…" Sage frowned as he closed his eyes to think. It had been a long, boring day. "Not sure. Most of them are probably on guard duty or sleeping off their last shift."  
  
"Speaking of last shifts…" Kento yawned and stretched. "I don't think I'll even go to my room. I'll just sleep right here. I was up all night…"  
  
"I'm just worried… that if Arcane's freak squad doesn't get us, we're going to kill each other." Sage yawned as well, and slumped further in his chair. "Some kind of… petty fight every day."  
  
"Yeah… Lys is out of the picture right now so Kasukio is off the deep end. Mia hasn't spoken a word since the fire, so Ryo is all out of sorts… and Reia's all upset because Lady Kayura was captured, so Cye and Rowen are upset too, even if they won't admit it… so the rest of us have to divide our attentions between endless guard duty, finding food, AND making sure Yulie doesn't get into trouble… seems everyone's totally on edge," Kento groaned. "It's making my head hurt, dude."  
  
"Just go to sleep for awhile…" Sage stretched and made himself stand up again. "I'll go find something for us to eat."  
  
"Cool. Owe ya one, man," Kento mumbled as he fell asleep on the couch.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Um… here, I found another magazine for you to read," Kasukio said quietly as he knelt beside the bed Lys was sitting in. "Hey, Lys?"  
  
She nodded numbly and took the magazine from him, but didn't look at him.  
  
"Um… how are you feeling today?" He asked after a moment.  
  
"I dunno… better, I guess…" Lys replied haltingly. "The… pain in my legs has gone down."  
  
Kasukio smiled, but it was a strained smile. "I'm glad to hear that…" He said as he reached for her hand, but she jerked away, trembling, at his touch.  
  
"I… I'm sorry, Kasukio… could you just leave?" She whispered in a shaking voice. "Please… I… just want to be alone…"  
  
~ She hasn't called me by my full name in a long time…~ He thought, shaking his head. He stood up, turning away quickly so she wouldn't see the pain on his face, even if she had been looking. "Um… all right… call me if you need me, OK?"  
  
It took all of his strength not to run, either back to her or out the door, as he just barely managed to leave the room calmly, and not slam the door behind him.  
  
Kasukio closed the door to Lys' room and leaned against it. He looked up at the ceiling, eyes blazing with anger. ~ No more, ~ He thought, decisively. ~ No more of this waiting, this hiding. I'll go to Arcane alone if I have to, but… I'm going to kill them. I'm going to kill them ALL for what they did to her, and I'm not going to wait any longer to do it!!! ~  
  
  
  
  
  
"Come at me!"  
  
"Ha!"  
  
"You're being sloppy, how do you expect to beat any Dark Ronins when you're leaving yourself open to ME?" Junichi snapped as he gave Xanthe a hard tap in the ribs with the practice spear he was holding, sending the older boy tumbling to the ground.  
  
"Dammit, Jun, you didn't have to hit me so hard!" Xanthe snapped when he hit the floor. "I know, I know…" He added, before the scarred boy could open his mouth, "The Dynasty won't pull punches either, but jeez…"  
  
"Is something on your mind?" Junichi asked as he sat down on the floor and took a sip from a bottle of Gatorade someone had brought from the store.  
  
"Aside from constant fear of death, nah," Xanthe replied easily as he stretched and leaned against the wall.  
  
"Xanthe…"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You're lying to me."  
  
"Me? Lie to you? Never!"  
  
"You are!" Junichi glared at his foster brother.  
  
"Junichi, I am not! I'm just tired, so leave me alone!" Xanthe snapped, throwing up his hands in the air as he grabbed a towel and slung it around his neck, stomping out of the room.  
  
Junichi sighed and got up to leave the room through a door on the opposite side, grumbling to himself about needing a shower.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I thought I'd find you here…" Rowen turned to the soft voice. His eyes registered no surprise at Reia as she closed the door to the roof behind her. He nodded at her but did not move from his seat on the ledge, his legs dangling over the side.  
  
"Can I sit with you?" She asked.  
  
Rowen shrugged. "Free country…"  
  
"Or at least, it was…" Reia said with a small chuckle, hoping to lighten the mood. It didn't work, and she sighed as she walked over and sat down beside Rowen, crossing her legs. "Nice view…"  
  
"Uh huh…"  
  
"Rowen, are you angry with me?"  
  
"Huh? Angry?" Rowen muttered, but didn't look at her. "What gave you that idea?"  
  
"Um, you've been avoiding me, I guess… but then, I'd avoid me, too…" She sighed. "OK, so I guess I've avoided you too, but now I…"  
  
"You want to know what happened to Kayura?"  
  
"Well, Junichi told me already, I just…" Reia squirmed. "Actually I wanted to tell you that I don't blame you for my mother's getting caught… I know you did your best."  
  
"How magnanimous of you," Rowen muttered.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Sorry… how GENEROUS-"  
  
"I KNOW what magnanimous means!" She threw her hands up in the air. "Look, when you're done brooding and feeling sorry for yourself, let me know, we'll talk then…" ~ Why did I even come up here, what was I seeking? Certainly not some mushy heart to heart and some big ol' hug from 'daddy'…sorry, no, I didn't spring from some bad anime…~  
  
"You don't have to pretend to be brave for me," Rowen said as she started to get up.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Rowen finally tilted his head to make eye contact with her. "I mean, it's OK to be angry. It's OK to be scared, too."  
  
"Hmph…" Reia shrugged. "Only a total idiot wouldn't be scared now… and only a saint wouldn't be angry."  
  
"That's true… you're no idiot, Reia," Rowen gave a small chuckle as he tossed a pebble out into the open air.  
  
"Nope… I'm a Hashiba." Reia leaned back to look into the sunset, not caring that the glaring light was making her eyes water. She glanced briefly at Rowen out the corner of her eye, wondering how he would react to that. The small look intercepted his, and they both cracked a small smile.  
  
"We'll find Kayura… I promise," Rowen told her as he turned his eyes back to the decimated city.  
  
"Thank you…" ~ …Otoo-san…~ Reia blinked back tears as she looked into the sunset again.  
  
They didn't say anything more, but Reia sensed that a great deal had actually passed between them.  
  
  
  
  
  
Kawai stood in front of the mirror in one of the large bathrooms they'd appropriated. Her red hair had fallen limp and lank over her eyes, which seemed sunken in, and her skin was pale.  
  
~ I look terrible, ~ She thought, blinking. She sighed and ran her hands through her hair, but all that did was make it messy. She reached for a candy bar sticking out of the pockets of her jeans, which were folded neatly on the bathroom counter. Her fingers flinched away from the chocolate, and she sighed again as she slowly unbuttoned her blouse and let it fall to the floor. Standing in her underwear, she stared at herself for a few more moments.  
  
~ It's a miracle I got Mia and Yulie out of the fire… at least I was strong enough for that, even if I couldn't save the house… But I couldn't… Mia's not responding to the treatments for her mind… my Empathy is useless… why? ~ She shuddered and hugged her arms to her chest. Her feet shifted on the cold tile and she tried to ignore the slight pain in her back. She resolutely blocked out the memories of the high, leaping flames. ~…Fire… fire always gets me like this…~ She frowned, and shook her head. ~ I need to take a bath, clear my mind…~  
  
She reached behind her back to open the clasp on her bra, her hands freezing when they brushed against the rough skin on her back. Her mental control was gone in the blink of an eye. She closed her eyes, not wanting to think about them, the rough scars that covered her entire back, but the flames only leapt higher in her mind's eye.  
  
~…Mother…~ She shuddered, and she hugged herself as her bra fell to the floor to join her blouse. No matter how she tried to get it out of her mind, the harder she tried, the brighter the images became. She could practically smell the smoke and hear the crackling of the flames that killed her mother and younger brother… and left her body scarred.  
  
Unexpected relief from the nightmare of heat came when the door, which hadn't been latched properly, suddenly opened. She gasped and whirled around to meet the surprised gaze of Junichi Furyu.  
  
"OhmyGOD!" Both gasped out, Kawai snatching up her shirt from the floor.  
  
"Get out!" She screamed, her face going as scarlet as her hair.  
  
"G-g-gomen nasai…" He gasped, , his eyes darting around, trying not to land on her form.  
  
"OUT!" She repeated, compulsively throwing the first thing at him she could get a hand on--a bar of soap.  
  
The soap only clattered against the door just as Junichi slammed it.  
  
Kawai sank to the floor, hugging the shirt to her body, trembling.  
  
~…He… saw… he saw…~ She closed her eyes again, but not before a warm tear could slide down her cheek. ~ What am I going to do? ~ 


End file.
